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LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 

IN  MEMORY  OF 

STEWART  S.  HOWE 

JOURNALISM  CLASS  OF  1928 


STEWART  S.  HOWE  FOUNDATION 


367 
C432g 


I.H.S. 


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THE 

CHICAGO  LITERARY 

CLUB 


REVEREND    ROBERT    COLLYER 


THE  m 

CHICAGO  LITERARY  ll 
CLUB 

^^  H I  Sr0  1{l'  OF 

ITS  FI-\ST 

FIFTT  rE^-T{S 

M 

i^     By  Frederick  William  Gookix    ^ 


^  CHICAGO 

PRINTED  FOR  THE  CLUB 
1926 


COPYRIGHTED    I926 

BY 

THE     CHICAGO     LITERARY     CLUB 


FOR  li  WORD 


IN  large  measure  this  history  of  The  Chicago  Literary 
Club  has  been  made  up  from  the  recollections  of  the 
writer^  augmented  by  those  of  several  of  the  early  mem- 
bers ivhose  narrations  have  been  built  into  it.  No  excuses^ 
therefore^  for  the  somewhat  frequent  use  of  the  personal  pro- 
7WU71  in  the  recital^  need  be  offered.  The  account  of  the  later 
years  should^  perhaps^  be  more  full;  but  conspicuous  hap- 
penings in  these  years  have  been  comparatively  few.  They 
have  been  years  marked  chiefly  by  sustained  interest  on  the 
part  of  the  members^  by  the  excellence  of  the  literary  feast  pro- 
vided at  the  meetings^  by  the  steady  maintenance  of  the  spirit 
of  fellowship  between  the  members^  and  by  the  atmosphere  that 
this  has  created  and  which  has  been  a  distinguishing  feature 
of  the  club  from  its  earliest  days  to  the  present  time. 

As  the  roll  of  members^  past  and  present^  shows  that 
resignations  were  sent  in  by  no  less  than  three  hundred  and 
thirty -five  of  the  eight  hundred  and  seventy-seven  whose  names 
appear  upon  the  list.,  it  may  here  be  stated  by  way  of  expla- 
nation^ that  in  a  great  majority  of  the  cases  the  reason  for 
resigning  was^for  one  cause  or  another^  inability  to  attend 
the  meetings.  This  prevented  many  from  ever  becomiyjg  in 
any  real  sense  identified  with  the  club:  some  of  them  did  not 
come  to  even  a  single  yneeting.,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that., 
after  being  enrolled  for  a  year  or  two,  or  in  some  instances, 
for  ?nany  years,  they  dropped  out.  In  cojitrast  to  this  show- 
ing, the  devotion  of  those  who  did  become  actively  identified 
with  the  club  has  been  so  constant  that  during  the  entire  fifty 

I    V   J 


vi  Foreword 

years  the  attendance  of  members  at  meetings  held  once  a  week 
save  in  the  suminer  months^  has  always  averaged  more  than 
twenty-five  per  cent,  oj  the  number  of  those  on  the  resident 
list.  'This  is  a  record  that  must  be  regarded  as  extraordinary 
when  the  facts  are  taken  into  consideration  that  with  few  ex- 
ceptions the  members  were  {or  are)  busy  men  having  many 
demands  upon  their  time,  and  that  the  homes  of  most  of  them 
were  {or  are)  distant  several  miles  from  the  club  rooms. 

Of  the  members  who  joined  the  club  in  its  first  year,  the 
only  one  now  living  is  Franklin  MacVeagh;  and  Alfred 
Bishop  Mason  is  the  sole  survivor  of  those  elected  in  the  second 
year.  Two  who  came  into  the  club  in  its  third  year  ^  Joseph 
Adams  and  Robert  T.  Lincoln.,  are  still  with  us^  and  John 
J.  Schobinger  who  resigned  in  1 904  when  he  beca?ne  a  resi- 
dent of  Morgan  Park.,  is  also  living  and  regrets  that  he  is  not 
now  in  the  fold.  Of  the  fourth  year  members  only  Clarence 
A.  Burley  and  the  present  writer  remain;  and  of  the  fifth 
year  contingent  one  alone  survives,  Charles  Norman  Fay  who 
made  the  mistake  of  resigning  in  1903. 

The  personnel  of  the  club  is  of  course  constantly  changing 
from  natural  causes ,  yet  the  club  itself  has  changed  little  if 
any  as  the  years  have  slipped  by.  The  distinctive  character 
that  was  given  it  in  the  beginning  has  always  been  main- 
taiyjed.  New  members  take  the  places  of  the  old  but  the  club 
remains  the  same.,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  it  will  so  con- 
tinue for  many  years  to  come. 

Frederick  W.  Gookin 

Winnetka,  November  i,  1925. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PACE 

I.   Founding  and  early  days i 

II.  The  first  and  second  seasons 15 

III.  The  third  season.  Rooms  of  the  club  in  the 
American  Express  Company's  Building  on 
Monroe  Street  occupied 32 

IV.  Events  of  the  fourth  season 45 

V.   Other  seasons  in  the  first  club  rooms.      .      .     60 

VI.  Removal  to  rooms  in  Portland  Block.  The 
Matthew  Arnold  hoax  and  other  memorable 
incidents 76 

VII.  Removal  from  Portland  Block  rooms.  Meet- 
ings held  at  Kinsley's  Restaurant.  Head's 
paper  on  "Shakespeare's  Insomnia"  ...     97 

VIII.   Removal  to  rooms  in  the  Art  Institute  Build- 
ing and  events  of  the  first  year  there .      .      .115 

IX.   Events  of  the  next  two  years.  Memorials  of 

three  well-beloved  members 129 

X.  The  last  two  years  of  the  club's  tenancy  of  the 
rooms  in  the  Art  Institute  Building.  More 
memorials 140 

[   vii    ] 


VIU 


Contents 


XI.   The  years  when  the  club's  home  was  in  the 

University  Club  Building  in  Dearborn  Street    153 

XII.  The  years  when  the  club  was  domiciled  in  the 
Orchestra  Building  and  then  in  the  Fine  Arts 
Building 176 

APPENDICES 

A.  List  of  the  rooms  occupied  by  the  club,  and 
other  places  where  its  meetings  have  been 
held,  with  dates 203 

B.  List  of  the  club's  officers,  1874  to  1924    .      .   205 

C.  Roll  of  members,  past  and  present,  arranged 
alphabetically 211 

D.  Lists  of  papers  read  before  the  club,  and  other 
contributions  to  the  literary  exercises,  with 
dates,  tabulated  under  the  names  of  the  sev- 
eral contributors .   235 


L  I  S  r   OF    1  L  L  U  S  T  R  A  T  I  O  N  S 

Reverend  Robert  CoUyer,  first  president       .      .  i-rontispiea 
From  a  photograph  by  Brisbois,  about  1888. 

FACING    PAGE 

William  Frederick  Poole,  sixth  president      ...      12 
From  a  photograph  by  Brisbois,  about  1885, 

Edward  Gay  Mason,  first  secretary  and  fifth  presi- 
dent      16 

Frofn  a  photograph  by  Max  P/atz,  about  1888. 

James  Sager  Norton,  twelfth  president   ....      40 
F}-o/)i  a  photograph  taken  in  Rome  ifi  1893. 

Major  Henry  Alonzo  Huntington,  tenth  president      84 
Fro??i  a  photograph  taken  about  1885, 

Dr.  James  Nevins  Hyde,  sixteenth  president     .      .      88 
From  a  photograph  by  Steffens  1909. 

General  Alexander  Caldwell  McClurg,  thirteenth 

president 100 

From  a  photograph  by  Max  Platz,  about  1898. 

Franklin  Harvey  Head,  seventeenth  president  .     .112 
From  a  photograph  by  W.  J.  Root,  about  1905. 

Reading  Room  of  the  club  in  the  former  building  of 
The  Art  Institute  (now  the  home  of  the  Chicago 
Club),  Michigan  Avenue  and  \^anBuren  Streets    1 16 
From  a  photograph  taken  in  1888, 

1   ix   1 


X 


List  of  Illustrations 


FACING  PAGE 


Assembly  room  of  the  club  in  the  Art  Institute 

Building,  1888 120 

Reverend  David  Swing 124 

From  a  photograph  taken  about  1892. 

John  Crerar 136 

From  a  photograph  taken  in  New  York  by  W.  Kurtz^  about 
1885. 

Reverend  Clinton  Locke,  eighteenth  president .      .    140 
From  a  photograph  by  C.  D.  Mosher,  about  1900. 

Reading  Room  of  the  club,  tenth  floor,  Fine  Arts 
Builidng 176 

Fro7n  a  photograph  taken  in  19 12. 

Assembly  Room  of  the  club,  tenth  floor.  Fine  Arts 
Building,  1912.  Its  day-time  aspect  when  used 
jointly  by  the  Literary  Club  and  the  Caxton 
Club ;  the  chairs  used  for  the  Literary  Club  meet- 
ings removed  and  the  president's  table  placed  at 
the  side  of  the  room  instead  of  the  north  end    .    180 

Edward  Osgood  Brown,  thirty-sixth  president  .      .188 
From  a  photograph  taken  in  1904. 

Frederick  William    Gookin,    third    secretary   and 
treasurer  and  forty-eighth  president  .      .      .      .192 
From  a  photograph  by  Matzene,  about  191 5. 


THE 

CHICAGO  LITERARY 

CLUB 

Chapter  I 


THE  story  of  the  founding  of  the  Chicago  Literary 
Club  turnishes  in  some  sort  an  historic  parallel  to 
the  nursery  rhyme  of  "Little  Dickey  Dilver  and 
his  bow  of  silver,"  of  whom  it  will  be  remembered  that 
"He  bent  his  bow  to  shoot  a  crow 
And  hit  a  cat  in  the  window." 
Under   the   able   leadership   of  Mr.   Francis   Fisher 
Browne,  "The  Lakeside  Monthly"  in  1873  had  attained 
an  honorable  position  in  the  field  of  literature,  and  was 
struggling  to  maintain  a  high  standard  in  spite  of  inade- 
quate pecuniary  recognition  on  the  part  of  the  public.  Of 
the  articles  that  appeared  in  its  pages  many  of  the  best 
were  written  by  Chicago  men.  With  a  view  to  stimulat- 
ing further  literary  eflfort  in  our  city,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  furnish  a  supply  of  desirable  papers  for  his  magazine, 
Mr.  Browne  conceived  the  idea  of  forming  a  Club  some- 
what similar  to  the  Century  Club  of  New  York,  which 

[  I  1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

should  accomplish  this  result.  This  is  the  story  as  told  in 

his  own  words: 

Chicago,  June  3, 1892. 
My  Dear  Mr.  Gookin: 

Since  our  brief  chat  about  the  formation  of  the  Literary  Club  I 
have  refreshed  my  memory  a  little  in  the  case,  though  the  most  of 
what  I  can  recall  was  given  you  in  outline. 

The  idea  originally  was  to  make  it  a  sort  of  "Lakeside  Contribu- 
tors'Club," — "The  Lakeside  Monthly"(of  which  I  waseditor)  being 
at  that  time  about  five  years  old,  and  having  succeeded  in  gaining 
signal  recognition  in  foreign  quarters, was  beginning  to  attract  notice 
among  the  more  slowly  appreciative  but  literary-aspiring  people 
nearer  home.  Hence  some  of  its  friends  thought  it  would  be  a  good 
thing  to  organize  a  club  from  among  its  contributors  and  other 
literary  people,  to  extend  its  influence  and  advance  the  claims  of 
literature  generally  in  the  city.  That  was  the  inception.  During  the 
winter  of  1873-4,  several  informal  meetings  were  held  in  my  office 
in  the  Lakeside  Building,  at  which  the  project  was  discussed;  those 
present  being  Rev.  Dr.  J.  C.  Burroughs,  Hon.  J.  M.  Binckley,  Mr. 
C.  C.  Bonney,  and  myself,— a  quartette  of  B's,  of  whom  I  was  the 
youngest  but  not  the  least  interested  member.  At  one  of  these  con- 
ferences it  was  decided  to  call  a  more  general  meeting  at  the  Sherman 
House,  and  this  was  held  in  the  spring  (March  or  April)  of  1874, 
those  present  being  Rev.  Dr.  Burroughs,  Mr.  Binckley,  Rev.  Dr.  H. 
N.  Powers,  Rev.  Robert  Collyer,  and  Mr.  E.  G.  Mason, —  all  of 
them  Lakeside  contributors  except  Mr.  Mason.  I  was  not  present 
at  this  meeting  owing  to  serious  illness, — from  which  cause  also  the 
magazine  was,  not  long  after,  given  up;  and  for  the  next  few  years 
I  was  absent  from  the  city  most  of  the  time,  and  my  membership 
in  the  club  lapsed. 

The  early  history  of  the  club  from  the  time  of  the  Sherman 
House  meeting  is,  I  suppose,  matter  of  record;  but  I  have  trans- 
cribed from  memory  these  few  details  of  its  unrecorded  history — now 
known  at  first  hand  only  to  myself  and  to  Mr.  Bonney,  whose  recol- 
lections will  doubtless  confirm  my  own  as  to  the  club's  incipiency 
and  the  facts  that  make  it  an  emanation  or  outgrowth  of  "The  Lake- 
side Monthly." 

Very  truly  yours, 

Francis  F.  Browne. 

[  2  1 


Mr.  Bonney's  Recollections 

Mr.  Browne's  remembrances  of  what  led  to  the  for- 
mation of  the  club  are  confirmed  by  those  of  Mr.  Bonney 
and  Mr.  Collyer.  In  August,  1892,  Mr.  Bonney  wrote: 

I  have  been  asked  to  state  my  recollection  of  the  ori- 
gin of  the  'Chicago  Literary  Club.'  It  originated  in  the 
editorial  office  of 'The  Lakeside  Monthly,'  of  which  Mr. 
Francis  F.  Browne  was  then  the  editor,  and  who  talked 
with  Dr.  J.  C.  Burroughs, Hon.  J.  M.Binckley  and  myself 
in  regard  to  the  project,  and  we  agreed  with  him  that  it 
would  be  advisable  to  attempt  the  formation  of  a  Literary 
Club  of  the  same  general  character  as  that  of  the  Century 
Club  of  New  York  City.  According  to  my  remembrance, 
Mr.  Browne  was  the  author  of  the  original  idea  and  pro- 
posal. Those  whom  I  have  mentioned  approved  his  views, 
and  agreed  to  aid  him  in  an  endeavor  to  carry  them  into 
effect.  Conferences  followed  with  Rev. Dr. H.N. Powers, 
Rev.  Robert  Collyer,  Prof.  David  Swing,  and  others;  and 
it  was  finally  agreed  that  a  meeting  should  be  called  of 
the  club  room  of  the  Sherman  House  for  the  purpose  in 
effecting  an  organization.  Such  a  meeting  was  held  and 
was  followed  by  several  others,  in  the  course  of  which  the 
present  Chicago  Literary  Club  was  organized.  During 
these  meetings  there  was  much  discussion  in  regard  to  a 
proper  name,  and  the  present  name  was  finally  chosen. 
Mr.  E.  G.  Mason  was  made  secretary  of  the  club.  Accord- 
ing to  my  recollection  the  club  owes  its  constitution  and 
distinguishing  characteristics  chiefiy  to  the  influence, 
during  its  formative  stage,  of  Mr.  Browne,  Mr.  Collyer, 
Dr.  Powers,  and  Mr.  Binckley." 

Mr.  Collyer's  testimony,  though  brief,  is  to  the  same 
purport: 

1 3  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

"The  spring  head  of  the  Chicago  Literary  Club  can  be 
easily  traced  to  my  dear  old  friend  F.  F.  Browne,  who  has 
done  so  much  beside,  of  which  his  city, — and  mine  for 
so  many  years — may  well  be  glad  and  not  a  little  proud. 
'The  Lakeside  Monthly'  was  then  to  the  fore,  full  of  good 
Hterature,  though  there  is  a  tradition  in  my  family  that 
some  things  I  wrote  must  have  helped  to  swamp  the  fine 
adventure.  Be  this  as  it  pay,  it  is  true  that  my  friend 
thought  such  a  club  would  bring  grist  to  his  mill  and  the 
thought  was  a  sound  one;  but  the  mill  stopped  when  the 
miller  could  not  be  at  his  post,  to  our  regret;  while  I  will 
venture  to  say  that  the  monthly  will  some  time  be  sought 
for  and  paid  for  at  a  great  price. 

"Then  Mr.  C.  C.  Bonney  took  hold  of  the  idea,  as  he 
takes  hold  always,  with  his  whole  heart,  and  the  Chicago 
Literary  Club  was  organized  and  launched;  and  I  want 
to  say  that  no  man  did  so  much  after  Mr.  Browne  had  to 
retire,  as  he  did  to  'make  the  thing  go,'  as  we  say,  while 
the  great  and  unexpected  honor  was  conferred  upon  quite 
an  unfit  man  of  being  elected  the  first  president,  of  which 
he  is  still  proud  and  grateful  also,  as  well  he  may  be." 

The  actual  history  of  the  club  begins  with  the  meet- 
ing held  m  the  club  room  at  the  Sherman  House  at  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  Friday,  March  thirteenth, 
1874;  ^"d  from  this  time  forward  nothing  further  appears 
to  have  been  heard  of  the  idea  of  making  the  club  a  sort 
of  "feeder"  to  "The  Lakeside  Monthly."  Seven  were  pres- 
ent at  this  preliminary  meeting:  Rev.  Robert  Collyer, 
Rev.  Dr.  John  C.  Burroughs,  Judge  Henry  Booth,  Rev. 
Dr.  Horatio  N.  Powers,  John  M.  Binckley,  Edward  G. 
Mason,  and  W.  J.  Leonard.  The  latter  did  not  afterward 

[  4  ] 


Edward  Mason's  Recollections 

join  the  club;  indeed  his  presence  at  the  meeting  appears 
to  have  been  a  surprise  to  the  others  in  attendance  and  to 
have  been  due  to  a  misconception  on  his  part  growing  out 
of  a  notion  that  the  purpose  of  the  gathering  was  to  found 
some  sort  of  a  journal  to  be  embellished  with  chromo- 
lithographic  illustrations.  In  a  paper  read  before  the  club 
on  the  occasion  of  the  celebration  of  its  twentieth  anniver- 
sary, Edw^ard  G.  Mason  gave  some  recollections  of  this 
first  meeting  and  other  early  meetings,  and  related  a  num- 
ber of  incidents  concerning  which  the  minutes  in  the 
club  records,  also  prepared  by  him,  are  discreetly  silent. 
He  says : 

"My  memory  goes  back  to  a  day  in  March,  1 874,  when 
the  Reverend  Dr.  J.  C.  Burroughs  asked  me  to  attend 
a  meeting  of  gentlemen  interested  in  the  formation  of 
a  club  in  Chicago  somewhat  like  the  Century  in  New 
York,  which  was  to  be  held  at  the  Sherman  House  on  the 
afternoon  of  March  13,  1874.  J  was  present  at  the  time 
appointed,  and  found  there  the  Reverend  Robert  Collyer, 
Reverend  Dr.  J.  C.  Burroughs,  Honorable  Henry  Booth-, 
Reverend  Dr.  H.  N.  Powers,  Messrs.  J.  M.  Binckley  and 
W.  J.  Leonard,  forming  with  myself  the  mystic  number 
of  seven,  which  doubtless  has  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with 
the  fortunes  of  the  club.  We  were  seven,  and  Wordsworth's 
lines  might  be  paralleled  in  more  than  one  respect  by  the 
subsequent  fortunes  of  the  persons  in  question,  two  in 
the  churchyard  lie,  two  elsewhere  dwell,  and  two  have 
gone  to  see  what  they  can  find  outside  the  club,  at  least 
they  no  longer  belong  to  it,  and  I  am  tonight  the  sole 
representative  of  that  part  in  the  resident  membership 
of  the  club.  I  knew  no  more  of  its  inception  then  than 

[  5 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

the  invitation  which  came  from  Dr.  Burroughs,  nor  have 
I  heard  until  very  recently  of  anything  which  preceded 
that  meeting.  Strange  rumors  have  reached  me  of  late 
that  the  idea  originated  in  the  editorial  rooms  of  'The 
Lakeside  Monthly,'  a  magazine  then  printed  in  Chicago, 
and  that  the  first  plan  was  to  make  it  a  sort  of  Lake- 
side Contributors'  Club.  I  hear  it  stated  in  proof  of  this 
that  of  those  present  at  the  first  meeting  four  were  con- 
tributors to  'The  Lakeside  Monthly.'  I  recall  furthermore 
that  one  of  the  persons  present  on  that  occasion  was  said 
to  have  come  to  interest  the  other  gentlemen  in  some 
scheme  not  altogether  unconnected  with  the  issue  of 
chromos.  However  correct  these  reminiscences  may  be, 
of  one  thing  I  am  certain,  that  neither  the  magazine  idea 
nor  the  chromo  idea  took  any  root  in  the  club  from  the 
first,  and  I  think  the  records  will  show  that  the  gentle- 
men having  these  things  in  view  before  a  great  while 
ceased  to  have  any  connection  with  the  club.  I  remember 
that  when  it  was  agreed  that  an  association  should  be 
effected,  one  gentleman  present  produced  and  read  a  list 
of  proposed  members  which  seemed  to  have  been  copied 
from  one  of  our  newspaper  articles  upon  Chicago  million- 
aires. Not  a  local  capitalist  of  any  note  was  omitted,  and 
those  credited  with  less  than  a  million  had  no  occasion  to 
apply.  The  reading  of  this  remarkable  roll  of  nominees  for 
membership  in  a  purely  literary  organization  paralyzed 
the  hearers  to  such  an  extent  that  it  was  nearly  adopted 
by  default.  One  of  those  present,  however,  rallied  suffi- 
ciently to  recollect  that  it  had  been  stated  to  be  a  reason 
for  forming  the  proposed  club  that  there  should  be  one 
place  in  Chicago  where  money  did  not  count,  and  he 

[  6  ] 


A  Memorable  Meeting 


mildly  suggested  that  such  a  membership  was  not  exactly 
the  best  way  to  accomplish  this  object.  The  list  was 
tabled  and  another  one  adopted  better  suitetl  to  the 
objects  of  the  organization.  It  was  solemnly  agreed  that 
only  those  whose  names  appeared  in  the  list  agreed  upon 
should  be  invited  to  attend  the  next  meeting,  but  as  we 
went  out  of  the  room  Mr.  Collyer  remarked,  'Oh,  well,  I 
suppose  if  one  sees  another  good  fellow  anywhere  he  may 
ask  him  to  come  in.'  Although  this  was  promptly  objected 
to,  the  good  Dominie  for  a  time  forgot  the  objection  and 
surprised  his  associates  by  introducing  friends  whom  he 
had  casually  met  and  asked  to  drop  in  upon  us,  and  it  was 
quite  a  time  before  Brother  Collyer  was  persuaded  to 
abide  by  the  restraints  of  the  constitution." 

Some  of  the  gentlemen  thus  introduced  became  valu- 
able members  of  the  club:  the  names  of  others  do  not 
appear  upon  its  records  except  in  the  list  of  those  attend- 
ing the  meetings  at  which  they  were  present. 

Another  preliminary  meeting  was  held  at  the  Sherman 
House  on  March  17, 1874,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening; 
and  a  third,  at  the  same  place  on  March  24,  when  a  pro- 
visional organization  was  effected  and  a  draft  of  a  consti- 
tution and  by-laws  was  adopted,  but  referred  for  revision 
to  the  committee  which  prepared  and  presented  it.  "This 
committee,"  writes  Edward  G.  Mason,  "then  proceeded 
to  elaborate  and  effloriate  its  work  until  a  gorgeous  struc- 
ture was  reared  upon  the  simple  foundation  first  laid. 
When  we  met  on  the  evening  of  Tuesday,  April  7,  1874, 
for  the  purpose  of  perfecting  the  organization,  our  busy 
committee  of  three  B's  presented  a  stately  preamble  and 
constitution  to  our  astonished  ears." 

[  7 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

"Over  the  lapse  of  twenty-five  years,"  says  Edward  O. 
Brown  in  a  paper,  read  on  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary 
of  the  founding  of  the  club,  "I  remember  with  a  vividness 
which  actually  startles  me,  the  oppressive  silence  which 
reigned  around  the  table  in  the  club  room  for  several  min- 
utes after  Mr.  Binckley,  the  chairman  of  the  committee, 
had  finished  the  reading  of  this  wondrous  report." 

The  preamble  which  has  fortunately  been  rescued  from 
oblivion,  read  as  follows: 

"To  promote  the  true  sovereignty  of  letters  and  cul- 
ture; to  sustain  the  same  by  the  moral  and  social  virtues; 
to  form  and  maintain  a  literary  organization  fairly  repre- 
sentative of  the  intellectual  rank  and  progress  of  Chicago; 
and  to  cultivate  fraternal  relations  with  other  exponents 
of  literature  and  art, 

"We,  the  undersigned  citizens  of  Chicago,  convened 
for  this  purpose  do  ordain  and  establish  this 

"Constitution," 
and  the  constitution  opened  with  the  following  statement 
of  its  objects: 

"The  business  of  this  Association  in  pursuance  of  the 
objects  mentioned  in  the  preamble  of  this  constitution, 
shall  extend  to  the  cultivation  and  enjoyment  of  litera- 
ture in  its  largest  sense  so  far  as  may  be  consistent  with 
the  nature  of  our  organization  and  the  limitations  hereby 
imposed." 

Mr.  Mason's  account  of  this  meeting  and  of  what  oc- 
curred after  the  presentation  of  the  amazing  report  is  as 
follows : 

"I  very  much  regret  that  the  whole  constitution  was 
not  preserved  in  our  records,  and  that  the  remainder  of 

[   8   1 


An  Amazing  Rkport 


it  cannot  now  be  found.  It  was  unique  in  its  way,  and  as 
a  model  of  what  the  constitution  of  a  literary  club  should 
not  be  was  beyond  all  praise.  I  only  remember  now  that 
among  its  other  oratorical  flourishes  it  provided  in  swell- 
ing and  glowing  terms  tor  a  chaplain,  an  orator,  a  poet,  a 
marshal,  an  assistant  marshal,  a  scribe,  an  assistant 
scribe,  and  other  dignitaries  for  the  club,  by  the  side  of 
whom  plain  presidents  and  secretaries  seemed  very  insig- 
nificant. There  were  to  be  committees  on  a  great  variety  of 
subjects  such  as  'xArt  in  the  Western  States,'  'Art  in  the 
Eastern  States,'  *Art  in  Europe,'  on  'Science  and  Litera- 
ture' in  various  phases;  and  a  crowning  feature  of  the 
exercises  was  to  be  a  grand  pageant  of  which  the  marshal 
was  to  be  the  major  domo. 

"x-\s  we  listened  to  the  rolling  periods  of  this  remark- 
able document,  visions  of  waving  banners,  of  glittering 
insignia,  and  of  magnificent  regalia  danced  before  our 
eyes,  and  we  were  treated  to  a  surprise  even  greater  than 
that  caused  by  the  list  of  capitalists  read  at  our  first  meet- 
ing. We  all  sat  in  silence  for  a  time  when  the  last  notes 
of  the  reader  died  away,  and  before  the  complacent  faces 
of  the  committee  who  sat  together  on  one  side  of  our 
round  table  it  was  difficult,  and  even  cruel,  to  criticize 
their  work  at  all.  However,  one  bold  individual  whose 
name  is  now  lost  to  fame,  rose  to  the  occasion,  and 
remarked  in  a  quiet  conversational  tone,  'The  preamble 
impresses  me  as  being  slightly  ornate.  I  think  it  must 
have  been  written  by  the  candidate  for  poet;  I  move 
that  the  preamble  be  omitted.'  The  motion  was  quickly 
seconded  and  then  Mr.  Collyer  stated  it  and  asked  for 
discussion,  but  not  a  word  was  spoken  until  the  question 

I  y  1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

was  put.  The  committee  sat  aghast  and  refrained  from 
voting,  so  that  the  decision  upon  the  question  was 
unanimous  in  its  favor.  Then  we  meandered  for  a  while 
among  the  winding  paths  and  flowery  shades  of  the  con- 
stitution, until  we  became  entangled  and  darkened  in 
its  mazes,  and  there  seemed  to  be  no  relief  at  hand.  But 
Mr.  Horace  White,  at  that  time  editor  of  The  Chicago 
Tribune,  at  last  cut  the  Gordian  knot  by  a  motion  to 
strike  out  all  but  the  preamble.  This  passed  with  equal 
unanimity,  the  horror  stricken  committee  making  no 
effort  to  save  their  bantling.  New  members  were  added  to 
the  committee  and  the  whole  subject  went  over  to  the 
meeting  of  April  14,  when  a  new  constitution  was  pre- 
sented shorn  of  the  glories  of  its  predecessor  but  better 
suited  to  the  needs  of  such  a  club.  This  with  some  amend- 
ments, together  with  a  code  of  by-laws,  was  formally 
adopted  and  the  election  of  officers  under  it  held  April 
21,1874.'; 

The  episode  just  related  marks  only  the  beginning  of 
what  developed  into  a  long  struggle  before  the  club  suc- 
ceeded in  formulating  a  code  of  rules  perfectly  adapted  to 
its  needs.  The  vital  principles,  however,  which  have 
proved  to  be  the  source  of  strength  and  have  kept  it  free 
from  dissensions  throughout  the  entire  course  of  its  exist- 
ence, were  contained  in  the  first  constitution,  and  in  an 
"Order  of  Exercises"  adopted  at  the  meeting  held  on  May 
4,  1874.  These  principles  may  be  stated  thus: 

1.  That  the  literary  exercises  are  of  chief  importance. 

2.  That  the  social  advantages  afforded  by  the  club 
depend  largely  upon  the  excellence  of  the  literary  work 
done. 

[   10  ] 


The  Principles  of  the  Club 

3.  That  the  general  business  of  the  cKib  is  placed  in 
the  exclusive  charge  of  committees,  so  that  no  business 
other  than  amendments  to  the  rules  or  matters  of  such 
importance  as  to  call  for  general  discussion  and  expres- 
sion of  opinion,  comes  before  the  club  at  its  ordinary 
meetings. 

4.  That  while  the  largest  liberty  is  given  to  the  expres- 
sion of  individual  opinion  the  club  itself  is  prohibited 
from  having  any  opinion  or  creed  and  cannot  be  used  to 
further  any  sort  of  propagandism  however  worthy  it  may 
seem. 

The  credit  for  placing  the  club  upon  this  solid  founda- 
tion is  due  to  Dr.  William  F.  Poole.  He  was  elected  a 
member  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  club  as  such,  which  was 
held  on  the  evening  of  March  31,  1874;  ^^d  he  attended 
the  meeting  held  a  week  later,  when  John  M.  Binckley 
read  the  famous  constitution,  which,  to  quote  Mr.  Poole's 
words,  "was  the  most  gorgeous  piece  of  literary  composi- 
tion that  ever  came  under  my  notice;  tropes,  figures,  met- 
aphors, and  rhetorical  fireworks  chased  each  other  with 
dazzling  brilliancy."  Mr.  Poole  had  recently  removed  to 
Chicago  from  Cincinnati  where  he  had  been  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Literary  Club  of  that  city,  which  was 
founded  in  1849  and  had  behind  it  the  accumulated  ex- 
perience of  a  successful  career  of  twenty-five  years.  This 
experience  Mr.  Poole  declared  might  be  drawn  upon  with 
profit;  and  to  the  suggestions  made  by  him  the  club  is 
indebted  for  many  of  the  rules  which  have  worked  so 
admirably.  Of  him  Mr.  Mason  wrote: 

"He  brought  with  him  the  constitution  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati Literary  Club,  and  although  we  used  jokingly  to 

I  II  1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

allude  to  his  quotations  from  it  as  the  ^Cincinnati  Plat- 
form' and  to  speak  of  its  printed  order  of  exercises  as 
*Poole's  Index,'  we  all  realized  that  his  experience  in  that 
association  was  of  great  value  to  us.  He  took  an  honest 
pride  in  his  early  connection  with  the  club  and  his  placid 
temper  was  sometimes  ruffled  by  the  teasing  assertion 
that  he  was  not  really  a  founder  of  the  club  because  he  did 
not  join  it  until  four  meetings  had  been  held.  He  used  to 
assert  with  great  positiveness  that  he  was  truly  one  of  the 
founders  of  this  club;  and  if  it  was  necessary,  in  order  to 
establish  that  fact,  to  hold  that  the  meeting  of  April  7, 
iSy^,  preceded  tha.t  of  March  13  of  the  same  year,  he  was 
ready  to  maintain  that  position.  And  he  was  right.  For  he 
was  certainly  one  of  the  men  who  founded  the  Chicago 
Literary  Club,  which  may  well  be  proud  to  write  at  the 
beginning  of  its  annals  the  honored  name  of  William 
Frederick  Poole." 

Among  those  present  at  the  memorable  meeting  on 
March  17, 1874,  Dr.  Poole  alone  appears  to  have  had  any 
personal  experience  in  such  an  organization  as  they  were 
endeavoring  to  form.  He  was,  however,  not  alone  in  the 
yeoman  service  which  he  rendered  in  giving  the  club  its 
initial  impetus.  Many  of  those  then  enrolled  in  its  ranks 
contributed  ideas  and  suggestions;  but  those  who  gave 
most  largely  of  their  time  and  energies  and  sound  com- 
mon sense  were  Robert  Collyer  and  Edward  G.  Mason, 
who  were  on  April  21,  1874,  elected  as  the  first  president 
and  secretary.  The  success  and  harmony  that  have 
marked  the  course  of  the  Chicago  Li  terary  Club  are  largely 
due  to  the  fact  that  it  started  right  at  the  outset;  and 
that  these  men  helped  to  steer  it  and  keep  it  steadily  in 

[  12  ] 


WILLIAM     FREDERICK.    I'OOLE 


The  First  Constitution 


the  right  direction.  Masoi),  especially,  was  active  in  the 
upbuilding  and  in  combating  every  attempt  to  introduce 
features  which  he  clearly  foresaw  might  have  unfortunate 
consequences.  For  this  service  the  club  members  should 
always  cherish  his  name  in  grateful  remembrance. 

After  the  first  constitution  was  adopted  the  process 
of  amending  it  began.  The  records  of  the  early  meetings 
abound  in  proposed  amendments,  most  of  which  failed 
ot  adoption.  Some  of  them,  however,  were  carried,  and 
on  March  6,  1876,  a  revised  draft  was  adopted.  Although 
this  was  again  revised  on  January  28,  1884,  and  again 
on  March  28,  1887,  when  the  club  was  incorporated  and 
the  constitution  became  by-laws  in  compliance  with  the 
statutes  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  these  several  revisions 
involved  little  beyond  mere  verbal  alterations.  Indeed 
the  only  important  change  made  in  the  rules  at  any  time 
was  that  put  in  force  November  28,  1881,  by  which  the 
Electoral  Committee  was  constituted  and  the  election 
of  members  placed  in  its  hands.  Prior  to  that  time  the 
club  voted  upon  candidates  for  membership  on  the  fourth 
Monday  evening  in  each  month,  which,  under  the  consti- 
tution was  set  aside  for  business.  As  an  inducement  to 
the  members  to  attend  on  these  occasions  it  was  cus- 
tomary to  serve  a  collation  after  the  business  was  dis- 
patched. The  success  of  this  plan  was  unquestionable, 
though  Brooke  Herford  stated  at  the  annual  dinner  June 
25,  1877,  that  he  "found  it  difficult  to  convince  outsiders 
of  the  purely  literary  character  of  the  club,  when  one 
meeting  in  every  four  was  devoted  to  'business  and  col- 
lation.'" It  was  a  report  of  this  meeting  contained  in  a 
letter  from  Henry  W.  Raymond  to  The  Boston  Globe, 

1  13 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

which  brought  forth  the  editorial  comment  on  the  club: 
"In  time  it  may  rank  with  the — -let  us  say  it  modestly 
— famous  literary  clubs  of  Boston.  At  present,  we  should 
judge,  from  the  frequency  of  its  meetings  about  the  festive 
board,  that  it  takes  its  literature  mixed." 

We  can  afford  to  laugh  now  at  the  aspersion  imphed  in 
this  paragraph.  The  collations  did  much  to  promote  good 
fellowship  among  the  members,  who  in  this  way  were  un- 
doubtedly stimulated  to  give  to  the  club  their  best  liter- 
ary efforts.  The  wine,  too,  that  flowed  on  these  festive 
occasions  helped  to  soothe  the  wounded  feelings  of  those 
whose  candidates  met  with  defeat. 

It  may  here  be  noted  that  the  name  chosen  for  the 
club  had  been  borne  by  an  earlier  organization  which 
does  not  appear  to  have  left  any  visible  signs  of  its  exist- 
ence save  in  the  business  directory  for  the  year  1858, 
wherein  it  is  recorded  that  the  Chicago  Literary  Club 
met  on  Wednesday  evenings  in  the  rooms  of  the  Bryant 
&  Stratton  College.  Lester  L.  Bond,  a  well-known  lawyer 
of  that  day,  was  the  president;  W.  L.  Perkins  was  the 
secretary,  and  A.  S.  Seaton  was  the  treasurer.  Like  its 
flourishing  contemporary,  the  Joliet  Literary  Club  of 
which  Arba  N.  Waterman  was  then  the  president,  its 
existence  was  probably  terminated  by  the  outbreak  of 
the  Civil  War  in  1861. 


[   14  ] 


Chapter  II 


l*<^«B»<lWi^-««f<^<&^r«&«t<Cr^<Br^ 


A  FTER  seven  preliminary  meetings  devoted  to  most 
/-\^  careful  consideration  of  the  basic  structure  of  the 
jL  Jm^  cluh,  the  first  regular  meeting  of  the  club  as  such 
was  held  at  the  Sherman  House  on  Monday  evening  May 
4,  1874.  I^  ^^^s  attended  by  twenty-two  members,  none 
of  whom  is  now  living.  Their  names,  however,  mean  much 
to  those  who  remember  Chicago  as  it  was  then  and  for 
some  years  after,  and  although  fifty  years  have  elapsed 
since  the  meeting  was  held,  to  many  of  our  present  mem- 
bers most  of  them  are  still  much  more  than  mere  names. 
This  is  the  list,  in  the  order  in  which  the  names  appear 
upon  the  record:  Judge  John  A.Jameson,  who,  in  the 
absence  of  President  CoUyer,  occupied  the  chair;  Dr. 
William  F.  Poole,  then  librarian  of  the  Chicago  Public 
Library  and  always  one  of  the  most  clubable  of  men; 
Daniel  L.  Shorey,  lawyer,  public-spirited  citizen,  and 
apostle  of  literary  culture;  William  E.  Doggett,  merchant 
and  polished  gentleman,  deeply  interested  in  everything 
making  for  the  higher  life;  William  M.  R.  French,  then 
a  landscape  architect  and  then  as  now  dear  to  the  hearts  of 
all  who  knew  him;  Horace  W\  S.  Cleveland  (Mr.  French's 
senior  partner),  the  distinguished  landscape  architect  to 
whom  the  cities  of  Chicago  and  Minneapolis  are  indebted 
for  the  beautiful  planning  of  their  parks,  a  charming 
writer  and  one  of  the  most  gentle  and  lovable  of  men; 
John  M.  Binckley,  a  well-known  lawyer,  who  had  been 
assistant  United  States  attorney  general  under  President 

I  15 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

Johnson;  Thomas  S.  Chard,  a  business  man  of  Intellec- 
tual tastes  who  was  a  devoted  member  for  nineteen  years 
and  whom  we  were  sorrv  to  lose  when  he  resigned,  as  he 
did  with  much  regret,  because  he  was  unable  without  re- 
sulting illness  to  attend  meetings  in  rooms  where  there 
was  much  tobacco  smoke;  George  Rowland,  of  blessed 
memory,  principal  of  the  West  Division  High  School, 
classical  scholar  and  all-around  good  fellow;  David  Swing, 
eloquent  preacher,  man  of  letters,  gifted  and  witty  writer, 
and  of  such  winning  personality  that  no  one  who  knew 
him  can  ever  forget  it  or  him ;  William  Henry  King,  one  of 
the  most  cultivated  of  Chicago's  early  citizens,  whose 
genial  manner  made  him  a  general  favorite,  but  who  was 
already  feeling  the  weight  of  years  which  caused  him  to 
drop  out  of  the  club  in  1880;  Lyman  Trumbull,  distin- 
guished United  States  senator  and  statesman;  John  Bor- 
den, lawyer  ot  high  standing;  John  V.  LeMoyne,  then  one 
of  Chicago's  prominent  citizens;  John  Wilkinson,  hard- 
ware merchant  but  not  so  deeply  immersed  in  business 
that  he  could  neglect  the  intellectual  life;  JosiahL.  Pick- 
ard,  then  superintendent  of  the  Chicago  schools,  and  later 
president  of  the  Iowa  State  University;  Rev.  Simeon  W. 
Gilbert,  a  man  of  the  closet-student  type  as  I  recall  him; 
Frederick  B.  Smith,  then  and  for  many  years  thereafter, 
of  the  firm  of  A.  C.  McClurg  &Co.,  whom  we  all  remember, 
as  he  lived  until  only  a  few  years  ago;  Rev.  Dr.  Leander 
Trowbridge  Chamberlain,  a  widely-known  clergyman 
who  was  one  of  the  most  enthusiastic  of  the  founders,  and 
who,  although  he  removed  to  Brooklyn  two  years  later, 
continued  to  cherish  the  warmest  interest  in  the  club 
during  all  of  the  succeeding  thirty-seven  years  of  his  life; 

[  16  ] 


EDWARD    GAY    MASON 


The  First  "Regular"  Meeting 

James  L.  High,  whose  attainments  as  a  lawyer,  whose 
worth  as  a  man,  whose  gracious  and  kindly  bearing  are  a 
part  of  the  club's  heritage  of  which  we  may  well  be  proud ; 
Dr.  Hosmer  A.  Johnson,  eminent  physician,  deeply  loved 
and  revered — a  "world-wide  man"  as  David  Swing  called 
him;  and  lastly,  the  secretary,  Edward  Gay  Mason, 
lawyer — the  brilliant  and  witty  speaker  and  writer,  who 
was  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  figures  in  the  galaxy 
of  notable  men  that  constituted  the  club  membership,  and 
who  was  ever  indefatigable  in  his  eflorts  to  make  the  club 
the  center  of  the  intellectual  life  of  the  city. 

It  was  these  men,  and  such  as  these,  that  gave  the  club 
the  deep  hold  upon  the  affections  of  its  members  which  it 
developed  at  once  and  has  held  for  half  a  century. 

At  the  first  regular  meeting  a  plan  of  literary  exercises 
was  reported  and  adopted,  an  amendment  to  the  constitu- 
tion was  offered,  and  six  candidates  were  elected  mem- 
bers of  the  club  after  their  qualifications  had  been  duly 
discussed.  Not  until  the  next  meeting  which  was  held  at 
the  same  place  two  weeks  later  was  the  first  paper  read. 
The  author  was  the  Rev.  LeanderT.  Chamberlain  and  his 
subject  was  "Physical  Pain;  Its  Nature  and  the  Law  of 
Its  Distribution."  Of  the  twenty-eight  members  who 
gathered  to  hear  it  read,  fifteen  had  been  present  at  the 
first  regular  meeting;  the  other  thirteen  were  President 
Robert  Collyer,\Villiam  Hull  Clarke,  Judge  Henry  Booth, 
Henry  W.  Bishop,  Dr.  Edmund  Andrews,  Rabbi  Bern- 
hard  Felsenthal,  Rabbi  Kaufman  Kohler,  William  Eliot 
Furness,  Samuel  S.  Greeley,  Joseph  E.  Lockwood,  Frank- 
lin MacVeagh, Rev.  Minot  J.  Savage,  and  Edward  Osgood 
Brown. 

I  17 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

It  is  a  curious  circumstance  that,  although  the  avowed 
purpose  of  the  club  was  the  promotion  of  literary  and  aes- 
thetic culture,  the  first  paper  read  before  it  should  have 
been  upon  a  topic  neither  literary  nor  aesthetic.  Without 
doubt  the  paper  that  was  read  was  the  only  one  available 
upon  short  notice,  and  the  Committee  on  Exercises  had 
only  "Hobson's  choice"  in  the  matter.  Nevertheless  at  the 
outset,  a  precedent  was  established  of  catholicity  in  the 
choice  of  subject,  thus  broadening  the  scope  of  the  club 
and  making  it  a  forum  for  the  expression  of  views  upon 
any  subject  whatsoever.  This  was  quickly  interpreted  to 
signify  also  that  one  need  not  necessarily  be  a  literary  man 
in  the  narrow  sense  of  the  term,  to  be  qualified  for  mem- 
bership. But  it  may  be  noted  in  passing  that  while  the 
rules  from  the  very  beginning  left  the  essayist  free  to 
select  his  own  subject  and  to  express  any  opinion  thereon 
that  he  may  wish,  no  member  is  under  compulsion  to 
listen  to  any  paper  that  he  does  not  find  interesting.  This, 
however  should  not  be  construed  as  an  argument  for  ab- 
stention from  meetings  because  the  topic  announced  does 
not  make  an  insistent  appeal.  The  members  who  have 
formed  the  habit  of  regular  attendance  soon  discover  that 
any  subject  can  be  made  interesting  if  presented  in  an 
effective  way;  and,  besides,  the  paper  is  not  the  only 
thing,  as  we  all  know.  Realization  of  this  soon  found  ex- 
pression in  an  amendment  to  the  constitution  in  which  the 
object  of  the  club  was  declared  to  be  social,  as  well  as  liter- 
ary and  aesthetic  culture.  After  all  what  is  more  precious 
in  this  world  than  the  fellowship  of  men  of  intellectual 
tastes?  x^nd  does  it  not  add  to  the  delight  of  coming  to- 
gether that  they  should  have  different  interests  and  thus 

[   iS  ] 


The  First  Annual  Dinner 


be  able  to  present  fresh  thoughts  and  to  divert  each 
others'  minds  from  their  accustomed  grooves? 

Two  more  meetings  brought  the  first  short  season  to  an 
end.  At  the  first  of  these — the  third  of  the  club's  regular 
meetings — held  on  June  i,  1874,  the  officers  and  commit- 
tees for  the  season  of  1 874-1 875  were  elected.  The  other 
meeting  was  held  at  the  Sherman  House  on  June  15, 
1874,  a^<-^  ^""'^^  the  first  annual  dinner.  How  many  mem- 
bers gathered  does  not  appear  of  record.  The  custom 
of  excluding  reporters  from  the  club  meetings  had  not 
then  been  established,  so  the  secretary  adopted  the  long 
account,  including  the  text  of  President  Robert  Collyer's 
inaugural  address,  which  appeared  next  day  in  one  of  the 
newspapers,  and,  pasting  the  clippings  upon  the  pages  of 
the  record  book,  signed  it  as  the  official  record  of  the  meet- 
ing. I  cannot  think,  however,  that  in  doing  this  he  meant 
to  imply  that  he  was  the  author  of  the  following  choice 
paragraphs  which  I  venture  to  transcribe  for  the  delecta- 
tion of  the  club  members: 

"The  Chicago  Literary  Club  which  began  its  life  sev- 
eral weeks  ago,  and  numbers  among  its  membership  the 
most  notable  scholars,  wits  and  poets  we  have  among  us, 
by  last  evening  came  to  the  time  when  it  seemed  proper  to 
inaugurate  its  serious  labors  by  a  social  meeting  in  which 
speeches  should  be  made,  a  feast  should  be  eaten,  and  a 
time  of  good  fellowship  generally  be  had.  For  this  purpose 
the  Society  met  at  the  Sherman  House,  where  a  banquet 
was  laid  {sic^  in  the  ladies'  ordinary. 

"At  8  o'clock,  a  full  attendance  being  present,  the  mem- 
bers sat  down  to  the  feast.  This  was  all  that  it  should 
be  and  needs  no  description.  It  might  be  remarked  in 

[    19   ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

passing  that  the  Hterary  men  displayed  an  epicurean  taste 
and  delicacy  that  presages  that  they  will  live  long  to  con- 
fer the  benefits  of  their  labors  upon  us. 

"When  all  had  eaten  heartily  and  a  modest  glass  of 
pure  wine  had  been  added  to  the  inward  stores,  the  liter- 
ary character  and  talents  of  the  organization" — not  of 
the  members,  it  should  be  noted,  but  of  the  organization 
— "found  expression  in  speeches." 

After  this  demonstration  of  the  possibilities  of  repor- 
torial  English  it  was  decided  that  in  the  future  the  meet- 
ings of  the  club  should  not  be  public  functions.  For  several 
years,  however,  reporters  persisted  in  coming  to  the  meet- 
ings and  sometimes  it  was  difficult  to  turn  them  away. 

"Literature  and  Great  Cities"  was  the  topic  which  Mr. 
Collyer  chose  for  his  address.  The  opening  paragraphs 
reflect  so  well  the  feeling  that  animated  the  founders  of 
the  club  at  that  time  that  they  may  well  be  quoted  here. 
He  said: 

"If  ever  the  time  comes  in  which  it  will  be  worth  any 
man's  while  to  write  a  literary  history  of  Chicago  and 
the  Northwest,  and  this  club  should  then  put  in  a  claim 
to  be  mentioned  as  one  of  the  signs  of  a  prior  and  larger 
life,  which  succeeded  the  rude,  stern  fight  of  the  first 
forty  years,  I  trust  this  fact  may  be  stated  as  quite  the 
most  notable,  that  The  Chicago  Literary  Club  was  the 
result  of  a  feeling  those  who  became  members  of  it  had 
in  common  before  they  came  together,  that  the  time  had 
fully  come  when  all  true  lovers  of  books  in  our  city  should 
enter  into  a  league  through  which  whatever  each  man 
had  of  special  worth  to  his  fellows  should  be  brought  to 
the  exchange,  so  that  there  might  be  a  common  wealth 

[   20  ] 


President  Collyer's  Address 

of  culture  which  had  come  to  any  ripeness,  together  with 
a  company  of  men  eager  and  anxious  to  welcome  every 
new  sign  of  such  culture  either  among  those  of  their  own 
community  or  those  who  might  come  to  us  from  other- 
wheres. For  this  is  to  me  the  best  thing  about  our  society 
so  far  as  we  have  come,  that  each  man  among  us  seems 
to  have  been  moved  by  this  inward  impulse,  so  that  all 
we  needed  in  order  to  get  a  fair  start  was  to  pass  the  word 
to  fall  into  line,  and  then  see  what  could  be  done  to  carry 
out  our  common  purpose  in  the  best  fashion.  In  all  my 
experience  I  have  never  seen  a  society  formed  with  such 
a  cheerful  spontaneity,  or  one  that  in  my  opinion  had  a 
truer  or  more  unselfish  purpose,  or  that  met  as  we  meet 
tonight  under  fairer  auspices  of  a  large  success;  and  this 
is  just  as  it  should  be,  for  of  all  things  I  can  think  of 
for  which  men  league  together,  there  is  not  one  which 
depends  more  entirely  upon  such  a  spirit  as  we  have 
witnessed  than  the  companionship  of  men  who  gather  for 
a  purpose  like  this  with  the  risen  presence  about  them 
of  those  who  have  given  to  the  world  a  glorious  gift  of 
thoughts  that  breathe  and  words  that  burn  in  immortal 
books. 

"And  if  we  shall  think  a  moment  of  our  position,  we 
shall  see  how  imperious  the  call  must  be  to  men  of  a  genu- 
ine literary  instinct  and  aspiration  to  enlist  in  some  such 
company  as  this  we  have  formed." 

After  this  opening  Mr.  Collyer proceeded  to  show  that 
the  homes  of  literary  productivity  have  been  for  the  most 
part  in  the  great  cities  of  the  world.  Then  after  present- 
ing a  glowing  vision  of  Chicago  as  he  foresaw  it  would 
become  in  after  years,  he  said: 

[     21     ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

"If  our  city,  with  her  wonderful  future,  is  remembered 
in  a  future  still  more  wonderful,  these  are  the  conditions 
of  her  immortality.  Not  alone  that  she  shall  be  great, 
but  that  she  shall  have  writers,  thinkers,  poets,  and  his- 
torians greater  than  herself." 

Mr.  CoUyer  felt  this  deeply,  and  it  was  therefore  not  an 
empty  rhetorical  flourish,  when,  after  referring  to  certain 
pictures  of  Chicago  that  he  held  in  his  heart,  he  added: 
"Still,  as  one  generation  passes  away,  and  another  takes 
its  place,  there  will  be  chapters  full  of  wonder  in  its  own 
way,  and  still  we  must  depend  on  this  we  are  seeking  to 
cherish  and  ripen;  not  on  our  Historical  Society,  not  on 
our  Academy  of  Sciences,  not  on  our  schools,  churches, 
hospitals;  not  on  the  noblest  things  besides  or  the  most 
imposing;  all  of  these  are  of  incalculable  worth,  but  that 
which  is  of  quite  singular,  separate,  and  unique  worth  is 
this  literary  quality,  this  power  which  can  tell  the  whole 
storyofit  to  future  ages."  A  little  earlier  in  the  address  he 
had  said:  "It  is  to  literature  that  we  are  to  look,  not  only 
for  a  great  place  in  the  world's  history,  but  for  any  place. 
These  pens  catch  our  thoughts  and  deeds  on  the  wing 
as  they  are  flying  swiftly  toward  forgetfulness  and  old 
night,  and  if  the  pen  is  tipped  with  the  gold  of  genius 
they  are  touched  with  immortal  youth." 

Turning  his  thought  again  to  the  Chicago  Literary 
Club,  Mr.  Collyer,  as  was  the  custom  fifty  years  ago, 
closed  his  address  with  a  florid  peroration.  It  is  too  long 
to  quote  in  extenso,  but  his  "anticipation  that  beside 
the  pleasure  and  profit  each  man  of  us  will  receive  from 
these  gatherings,  there  will  be  this  solid  purpose  at  the 
heart  of  all,  to  build  up  in  our  young,  city  a  society  of 

[    22    ] 


Some  First  Year  Members 


men  who  will  do  all  they  can  for  the  development  of  liter- 
ary culture,"  well  expresses  the  enthusiasm  that  animated 
the  men  who  brought  the  club  into  being.  And  in  these 
decadent  days  when  the  finer  flowers  of  literature  have 
been  largely  submerged  in  a  welter  of  rapacious  greed  and 
luxurious  living,  it  may  not  be  unprofitable  to  let  our 
thoughts  turn  backward  for  a  moment  while  we  contem- 
plate that  enthusiasm.  The  need  for  a  like  stimulus  is 
apparent  when  on  every  hand  we  hear  men  say  that  the 
agonizing  events  through  which  we  have  lived  in  the  last 
decade  have  made  it  almost  impossible  for  them  to  think 
of  or  to  care  for  literature  or  art,  or  to  turn  their  minds 
to  things  eternal  when  temporal  things  are  so  insistently 
engrossing. 

After  this  dinner  adjournment  was  taken  until  the  au- 
tumn. Seventy-three  members  had  been  enrolled  and  the 
list  includes  the  names  of  many  of  the  intellectual  lead- 
ers of  the  community.  Some  of  these  have  already  been 
mentioned;  others  are  equally  worthy  to  be  held  in  mem- 
ory. Let  us  recall  for  a  moment  the  eminent  clergymen, 
William  Alvin  Bartlett,  Arthur  Brooks,  John  Curtis 
Burroughs,  Leander  Trowbridge  Chamberlain,  William 
Jacob  Petrie,  and  Minot  Judson  Savage.  Though  all  ot 
these  men  except  Mr.  Petrie  soon  moved  away  from  Chi- 
cago, as  long  as  they  lived  they  never  forgot  the  club  nor 
what  it  stands  for.  The  legal  profession  was  well  repre- 
sented among  these  early  members.  The  list  includes  the 
names  of  Benjamin  Franklin  Ayer,  general  counsel  for  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company;  Edwin  Channing 
Larned  and  Julius  Rosenthal,  both  highly  revered  and 
beloved;  Henry  Walker  Bishop,  the  well-known  master 

[  23  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

in  chancery;  ex- Senator  James  Rood  Doolittle;  Judges 
Henry  Booth,  John  Alexander  Jameson,  Charles  Burrall 
Lawrence ;  John  Gorin  Rogers,  and  Lambert  Tree,  all  men 
of  marked  ability  and  strong  personality.  Judge  Lawrence 
in  particular  was  a  man  who  would  have  been  notable  in 
any  community.  And  who  of  those  who  were  privileged 
to  know  them  will  ever  forget  the  genial  Major  Joseph 
Kirkland,  or  Major  William  Eliot  Furness,  another  most 
clubable  man,  or  the  courtly  General  Alexander  Caldwell 
IMcClurg? — soldiers  all  three  when  their  services  were 
needed  to  save  the  Union  from  disruption,  but  all  devoted 
to  literature  throughout  the  span  of  their  lives.  Then  there 
were  Horace  White,  whose  fame  as  an  editor  is  nation- 
wide; Henry  Demarest  Lloyd,  brilliant  writer,  radical 
thinker,  earnest  student  of  social  problems,  and  philan- 
thropist, who,  as  an  editorial  writer  on  the  staff  of  The 
Chicago  Tribune  was  just  beginning  his  career;  David 
Swing,  most  lovable  of  men  and  fearlessly  independent 
thinker  in  a  day  when  it  took  courage  to  combat  ortho- 
dox religious  views;  Leonard  Wells  Volk,  the  sculptor; 
Df.  Charles  Gilman  Smith,  distinguished  physician,  witty 
writer  and  prince  of  good  fellows;  Dr.  Edmund  Andrews, 
founder  of  the  Chicago  Academy  of  Sciences;  our  dear 
friend  Judge  Edward  Osgood  Brown  who  has  so  recently 
been  taken  from  us;  and  Henry  Thornton  Steele,  lawyer, 
master  in  chancery,  one  of  the  most  devoted  members  the 
club  has  ever  had, — a  gentleman  of  the  old  school  whose 
innate  refinement  is  well  reflected  by  the  delightful  pocket 
edition  of  the  Latin  text  of  Horace  which  was  his  daily 
companion,  and  which,  as  it  was  his  favorite  book,  he 
bequeathed  to  the  club  that  he  so  dearly  loved. 

[   24    ] 


Beginning  of  the  Second  Season 

Other  Hrst  year  meinhers  whose  names  should  he  held 
in  remembrance  were:  Rev.  Dr.  Horatio  Nelson  Powers 
who,  as  a  graceful  writer  and  a  poet  had  achieved  more 
than  a  local  reputation,  and  who,  alas,  was  one  of  the 
first  of  our  number  to  have  his  name  enrolled  upon  the 
non-resident  list;  Daniel  L.  Shorey,  who  from  the  begin- 
ning was  unflagging  in  his  devotion  to  the  club,  of  which 
he  became  the  fourth  president,  and  who,  for  twenty-five 
years,  was  one  of  the  most  faithful  attendants  at  the 
meetings;  Dr.  Isaac  N,  Arnold,  widely  known  and  greatly 
revered  physician,  whose  later  years  were  given  over  to 
literary  work;  Judge  Homer  N.  Hibbard,  who  often  en- 
livened our  meetings  with  his  pungent  wit;  Norman 
Carolan  Perkins,  genial  comrade  and  facile  writer  of 
verse;  Moses  L.  Scudder,  all-around  good  fellow,  clear- 
headed student  of  and  lucid  writer  upon  economic  subjects 
in  years  when  erroneous  views  regarding  them  were  the 
rule  and  sound  thinking  the  exception;  William  M.  R. 
French,  beloved  by  his  fellows,  highly  esteemed  for  his 
character  and  rare  personal  charm,  as  also  for  his  excep- 
tional gifts  as  an  entertainer  which  always  insured  for  him 
a  large  audience  whenever  he  favored  us  with  one  of  his 
cleverly  illustrated  papers;  and  Franklin  Mac^'^eagh,  who, 
we  rejoice  to  say,  is  still  with  us. 

On  October  5,  1874,  the  meetings  were  resumed  after 
the  summer  recess,  and  thereafter  during  this  second  sea- 
son two  meetings  a  month  were  held;  on  the  first  and  third 
Mondays,  save  in  June,  1875,  when  the  dinner  scheduled 
for  June  21  was  omitted  and  the  season  was  ended  with 
the  meeting  held  on  June  7.  In  addition,  the  club  on  the 
evening  of  Tuesday,  November  3,  1874,  celebrated  the 

1 15 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

eightieth  birthday  of  William  Cullen  Bryant  by  a  dinner, 
which  was  attended  by  thirty-six  members,  and,  as  guests 
of  the  club,  by  the  poet's  brothers  Arthur  and  John  H. 
Bryant,  of  Princeton,  Illinois,  both  of  whom  made  ad- 
dresses. Besides  these  there  were  addresses  by  President 
Collyer,  the  Reverend  Dr.  Horatio  Nelson  Powers,  James 
Rood  Doolittle,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hiram  Washington  Thomas, 
and  Thomas  Septimus  Chard;  and  a  poem  written  for 
the  occasion  by  Francis  Fisher  Browne.  As  a  memorial  of 
this  celebration,  the  record  of  the  meeting  with  the  full 
text  of  all  the  addresses  was  printed  for  the  club  in  pam- 
phlet form  by  Jansen,  McClurg  &  Co.  early  in  1875.  With 
the  exception  of  a  leaflet  giving  the  "scheme  of  exercises" 
for  the  season  of  1 874-1 875  and  a  list  of  the  members  as 
of  October  i,  1874,  this  is  the  earliest  of  the  club's  pub- 
lications. It  is  the  only  one  bearing  an  imprint  other  than 
its  own.  From  this  pamphlet  and  the  club  records  we  learn 
that  the  dinner  was  served  at  nine  o'clock,  the  members 
and  guests  having  met  in  the  club  room  of  the  Sherman 
House  an  hour  earlier  to  listen  to  an  essay  on  "Thomas 
De  Quincey"  by  William  Mathews,  after  which  they 
"moved  in  procession  to  the  dining  room"  to  hold  the 
birthday  celebration. 

The  club  was  now  firmly  established  and  had  begun  to 
take  the  hold  upon  the  affection  of  its  members  that  has 
been  so  notable  and  so  constant  during  all  the  succeeding 
years  that  have  elapsed.  The  meetings  were  made  attrac- 
tive by  the  personality  of  the  members  and  by  the  quality 
of  the  papers  that  were  read.  Dr.  James  Nevins  Hyde  has 
given  us  the  following  account  of  one  of  these  meetings: 

"One  of  the  great  events  of  the  Sherman  House  era  was 

[  26  ] 


A  Stormy  Meeting 


the  reading  on  April  15,  1875,  o^  ^  paper  on  'Financial 
Crises'  by  Horace  White.  We  all  of  us  had  an  acute 
interest  in  his  subject  and  for  reasons  that  need  not  be 
particularized  were  exceedingl y  anxious  to  know  when  the 
financial  crisis  of  which  the  effects  were  then  painfully 
evident  would  be  over.  Mr.  White  did  not  tell  us;  in  fact 
he  told  us  that  he  did  not  know,  but  the  essay,  much  to 
our  satisfaction,  was  published  in  full  on  the  other  side 
of  the  water,  the  first  of  our  club  papers  honored  with  a 
transatlantic  reproduction,  x^s  the  financial  crisis  soon 
after  passed  away  we  have  since  entertained  the  con- 
viction that  the  work  of  Its  undoing  was  begun  and 
accelerated  by  the  co-operation  of  this  club  in  conclave 
assembled." 

During  the  first  season  It  was  customary  to  follow 
the  paper  by  an  informal  discussion  which  was  often  ex- 
tremely pungent  and  sparkling  as  might  be  expected  In  a 
gathering  of  exceptionally  gifted  men  among  whom  were 
an  unusual  number  of  brilliant  and  witty  speakers.  This 
custom,  however,  came  perilously  near  to  ending  the 
career  of  the  club.  The  last  essay  of  the  second  season 
was  read  at  the  meeting  on  May  17, 1875,  by  Judge  Henry 
Booth.  His  title  was  "Evidences  of  the  Resurrection  Ex- 
amined," and  he  subjected  the  evidences  to  the  searching 
analysis  of  a  trained  jurist,  thus  reaching  the  conclusion 
that  they  were  Inadequate.  In  these  days  when  agnosti- 
cism is  common  and  conventional  religious  views  are  so 
often  lightly  held,  it  is  difficult  to  realize  the  intensity 
with  which  they  were  believed  half  a  century  ago.  Judge 
Booth  was  then  regarded  as  a  misguided  atheist.  Among 
his  hearers  were  several  clergymen  and  a  number  of  other 

[  27  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

members,  who  were  greatly  grieved  and  incensed  by  his 
argument.  The  discussion  that  followed  became  decidedly 
acrimonious  and  so  heated  that  Judge  Jameson,  the  vice 
president  who  occupied  the  chair,  had  to  intervene  and 
bring  it  to  an  abrupt  end. 

This  incident  which  caused  much  feeling  at  the  time, 
despite  the  desire  of  most  of  the  members  that  the  club 
should  be  an  open  forum  where  men  of  the  most  diverse 
opinions  could  meet  in  friendly  intercourse  and  exchange 
their  views,  led  a  little  later  to  the  adoption  of  the  rule 
that  "no  paper  at  the  time  it  is  read  shall  be  open  to 
adverse  criticism  in  the  club."  It  was  not  intended  that 
this  rule  should  put  a  stop  to  discussion,  but  merely  that 
the  discussion  should  not  be  permitted  to  become  offen- 
sive. In  practice,  however,  as  we  all  know,  it  has  operated 
to  make  discussion  of  the  papers  read  before  the  club  most 
unusual.  On  the  whole  such  loss  as  there  has  been,  has 
been  fully  compensated  for  by  the  resulting  harmony.  And 
every  essayist  has  felt  that  he  could  express  his  thoughts 
with  the  utmost  freedom. 

Major  Henry  Alonzo  Huntington,  who  was  elected  a 
member  in  November,  1 874,  has  given  us  his  recollections 
of  some  of  these  early  meetings.  "The  first  meeting  of  the 
club  I  attended  was  held  at  the  Sherman  House  Decem- 
ber 21,  1874,  and  the  paper  I  listened  to  was  by  Rev.  C. 
D.  Helmer,  whose  subject  was  'The  Ring,'  the  finger,  not 
the  political  variety.  The  next  essay  I  heard  was  Bonney's 
'American  Antiquities,'  in  announcing  which  Mr.  Collyer 
humorously  supposed  it  would  be  largely  autobiographi- 
cal. Then  came  the  ever-welcome  Edward  Mason  with  his 
sympathetic  appreciation  of  Arthur  Hugh  Clough  whose 

[  28  ] 


Rkmimscencks  by  Huntington 

lines  beginning:  'Say  not  the  struggle  naught  availeth* 
must  so  often  have  been  in  his  thoughts  in  later  years. 
Poole's  'The  Origin  and  Secret  History  of  the  Ordnance 
of  1787'  followed  and  is  worthy  of  remembrance,  not 
only  for  its  instrinsic  merit,  but  also  as  the  first  contribu- 
tion by  a  member  to  a  leading  periodical.  Booth's  paper  on 
'Evidences  ofthe  Resurrection' was  the  occasion  of  many 
obvious  pleasantries  suggested  by  the  author's  emacia- 
tion which,  however,  tell  to  silence  as  soon  as  the  scoffers 
discovered  that  a  death's  head  is  not  necessarily  empty. 
My  own  debut  was  made  on  December  4,  1876,  with  an 
essay  entitled  'A  Neglected  Author.'  There  was  a  large 
attendance  and  it  is  worthy  of  notice,  in  view  of  Pea- 
cock's growing  fame,  that  the  only  person  present  who 
had  heard  of  him,  and  he  had  not  read  him,  was  William 
Mathews,  an  old  librarian.  When  I  closed  my  manuscript, 
Judge  Jameson  asked  how  I  accounted  for  the  obscurity 
of  such  a  man  as  I  had  described  and  quoted.  My  reply, 
'I  don't  account  for  it,'  was  received  with  uproarious 
delight,  which  is  explicable  on  no  other  ground  than  that 
wit  is  less  startling  than  such  a  stroke  of  unpremeditated 
art  as  speaking  the  truth." 

At  the  meeting  held  on  June  7,  1875,  J^<^ge  Charles 
Burrall  Lawrence  was  elected  president.  His  inaugural 
address  was  delivered  at  a  dinner  at  the  Sherman  House 
on  June  21.  No  account  of  this  dinner  appears  upon  the 
club's  records.  But,  at  the  meeting  that  followed  it — the 
last  ofthe  season  —  the  secretary  reported  that  one  hun- 
dred and  eight  regular  members  were  enrolled,  and  one 
honorary  member,  the  Honorable  George  Baldwin  Smith 
of  Madison,  Wisconsin,  who  had  been  the  guest  of  the 

1   19  1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

club  on  February  i,  1875,  and  had  read  a  paper  entitled 
"Was  Bacon  the  Author  of  Shakespeare?"  Two  members 
had  died  during  the  year,  two  had  resigned ^  and  four  had 
removed  from  the  city.  Although  some  of  those  who  were 
enrolled  had  never  achieved  more  than  a  nominal  mem- 
bership, the  attendance  at  the  meetings  had  averaged 
twenty-eight,  an  excellent  showing  when  we  consider  that 
three  of  the  eighteen  meetings  were  devoted  solely  to 
business.  Such  business  meetings  were  necessarily  some- 
what frequent  until  the  machinery  of  the  club  could  be 
got  to  working  quite  smoothly,  but  they  did  not  greatly 
attract  the  members;  so  in  the  next  year  the  expedient 
was  adopted  of  serving  a  collation  at  the  close  of  the 
session.  The  first  meeting  marked  by  this  feature  was 
held  on  March  25,  1876,  and,  although  there  were  no 
literary  exercises,  forty-two  members  were  present  and 
one  guest.  In  a  paper  read  in  1894,  at  the  twentieth  an- 
niversary of  the  founding  of  the  club,  Edward  G.  Mason 
said: 

"I  do  not  remember  when  we  began  to  enliven  our  ex- 
ercises with  a  collation.  But  I  still  recall,  though  many 
years  have  past,  the  flavor  of  the  beverage  served  at  the 
first  of  these.  Some  guileless  member  of  the  committee 
on  arrangements  who  must  have  been  himself  a  prohi- 
bitionist, was  persuaded  to  furnish  the  table  with  an 
alleged  product  of  the  domestic  vine.  Not  one  of  all  the 
wines  famed  in  song  or  story  had  such  staying  power.  It 
was  equaled  only  by  that  draught  mentioned  in  the  Bride 
of  Lammermoor  which  Caleb  Balderston  concocted  from 
the  lees  of  the  expended  hogsheads,  who  found  no  encour- 
agement to  renew  his  first  attack  upon  this  vintage,  but 

[  30  ] 


Notable  Early  Members 


contented  himself, however  reluctantly,  with  a  glass  of 
fair  water.  We  followed  the  example  of  the  Laird  of  Huck- 
law,  and  ever  after  branded  this  disappointing  heverage 
as  ^collation  wine.'  A  label  from  one  of  the  bottles  has  been 
preserved  in  the  club's  'Archives.'  " 

This  chapter  would  not  be  complete  without  recalling 
the  names  of  a  few  of  the  members  who  joined  the  club 
between  October  5,  1874,  and  June  7,  1875,  and  whose 
devotion  to  the  club  makes  it  especially  imperative  that 
they  should  not  be  passed  over  without  particular  men- 
tion: Generals  Joseph  Bloomfield  Leake,  John  Leverett 
Thompson  and  Joseph  Dana  Webster;  Judge  Mark  Skin- 
ner, Ezra  Butler  McCagg,  and  Abram  Morris  Pence,  were 
among  those  whose  names  come  to  mind  when  we  think 
of  the  club  as  it  was  in  its  first  year.  So  also  and  with 
greater  insistence  do  we  think  of  Major  Henry  Alonzo 
Huntington,  Edward  Swift  Isham,  Colonel  Huntington 
Wolcott  Jackson,  and  Dr.  James  Nevins  Hyde.  Each  of 
these  men  should  have  a  chapter  to  himself  to  tell  of  his 
rare  personal  qualities  and  his  part  in  building  up  the 
club.  It  is  impossible  to  think  of  them  without  a  swelling  of 
the  heart  and  a  realization  that  the  intimate  association 
with  such  men,  as  fellow  members  of  an  organization  as 
dear  to  them  as  to  us,  is  one  of  the  most  precious  expe- 
riences in  life.  From  the  very  beginning  it  was  perceived 
that  the  mission  of  the  club  was  not  only  the  fostering  of 
literary  and  lesthetic  culture,  but  also  the  upbuilding  of 
friendships  between  men  of  congenial  tastes. 


31 


Chapter  III 

AT  the  meeting  held  on  October  4, 1875,  the  first  of 
/  %  the  third  season,  the  committee  on  rooms  and 
-iL  .m.  finance  reported  that  rooms  Nos.  38  and  39  on 
the  fourth  fioor  of  the  American  Express  Building,  No. 
74  Monroe  street  (now  No.  23  West  Monroe  street) 
between  State  and  Dearborn  streets  had  been  leased  for 
the  use  of  the  club  until  May  i,  1877,  at  a  yearly  rental 
of  five  hundred  dollars.  These  rooms,  which  were  at  the 
south  end  of  the  building,  were  of  equal  size,  each  about 
forty  feet  in  length  by  about  twenty-five  feet  in  width, 
and  were  connected  by  a  door  near  the  north  end  of  the 
partition  that  separated  them.  Each  had  a  door  at  the 
north  end  opening  upon  the  entrance  corridor;  and  just 
within  the  doors  each  had  a  closet  partitioned  off,  making 
the  rooms  slightly  irregular  in  shape.  In  an  address  made 
by  William  M.  R.  French  at  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary 
meeting  in  1899,  he  said,  "The  securing  of  the  first  per- 
manent rooms,  as  I  remember,  was  a  great  event  in  the 
history  of  the  club.  For  the  furnishing  the  committee 
spent  all  or  nearly  all  the  funds  we  had,  before  it  reported 
to  the  club  at  all."  From  the  report  of  the  treasurer  made 
at  the  end  of  the  season,  we  discover  that  the  cost  of 
fitting  up  the  rooms  was  ^1,552.87,  whereas  the  balance 
carried  over  from  the  preceding  year  was  only  $401.16, 
thus  leaving  $1,151.71  to  come  out  of  the  dues  for  the 
current  year.  The  annual  dues  were  then  only  ten  dollars 
and  there  was  no  entrance  fee.  It  required  careful  figur- 

[  32  ] 


The  Club's  First  Home 


ing,  therefore,  to  avoid  a  deficit  at  the  end  of  the  season, 
but  by  postponing  payment  of  three  months*  rent  until 
October  when  the  next  semi-annual  dues  were  payable, 
the  other  bills  were  paid  and  a  balance  of  $65.97  "^^^^  ^^^f 
in  the  treasury. 

The  rooms  were  ready  for  occupancy  on  Saturday, 
November  22,  1875,  when  fifty-one  members  gathered  in 
them  to  celebrate  their  opening.  In  what  way  they  cele- 
brated does  not  appear  of  record,  the  minutes  merely 
stating  that  "the  meeting  adjourned  at  1 1 130  p.  m."  For- 
mal literary  exercises  there  were  none;  and  there  is  no 
record  that  the  committee  provided  refreshments  of  a 
material  sort.  It  is  to  be  presumed,  therefore,  that  the 
evening  was  spent  in  mutual  felicitation  while  inspecting 
the  wall  paper  with  which  the  rooms  were  bedecked  and 
the  chairs  and  tables  in  what  has  been  called  the  Eastlake 
gothic  style,  which  had  been  made  to  order  by  one  Mr. 
Bates,  a  cabinet  maker  then  in  high  repute  in  the  city. 
Two  of  these  tables  we  still  retain,  but  their  appearance 
has  been  transformed  by  staining  them  dark  brown.  The 
fitting  up  of  one  of  the  rooms — the  east  room,  called  by 
us  the  smoking  room,  which  we  used  as  a  gathering  place, 
while  the  other  was  the  assembly  room  where  the  meetings 
were  held — was  in  the  especial  charge  of  Mr.  Mac  Veagh. 
The  writer's  recollection  is  that  it  had  a  soft  gray-green 
paper  on  the  walls,  and  that  the  west  room  was  done  in 
blue.  The  east  room  had  a  fireplace  in  the  middle  of  the 
east  wall,  and  about  this  the  members  were  wont  to  gather 
as  they  dropped  in  to  the  meetings.  The  city  was  then  but 
a  small  town  compared  with  what  it  is  today,  and  all  the 
members  not  only  knew  each  other,  but  they  knew  each 

1 33  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

other  well.  And  in  the  words  of  Dr.  James  Nevins  Hyde, 
"few  ever  enjoyed  club  rooms  more  than  we  did  ours  in 
those  days."  They  were  conveniently  located,  and  until 
the  increase  in  the  membership  made  it  necessary  to  have 
larger  quarters,  they  answered  all  our  needs. 

The  season  opened  auspiciously,  and  at  the  four  meet- 
ings held  at  the  Sherman  House  before  the  rooms  of  the 
club  were  ready,  the  papers  were  of  marked  brilliance  and 
had  stimulated  the  interest  of  the  members  to  a  high 
pitch.  When  the  rooms  were  occupied,  and  at  last  the  club 
had  a  home,  the  enthusiasm  became  very  great.  There  was 
an  immediate  increase  in  the  attendance  at  the  meetings. 
At  several  of  them  nearly  half  of  the  resident  members 
were  present,  and  the  average  for  the  season  was  nearly 
thirty  per  cent.  As  the  members  were  among  the  busiest 
men  in  the  busy  city  and  the  meetings  were  held  once  a 
week  from  the  first  of  October  to  the  end  of  June — there 
were  no  golf  clubs  in  the  United  States  in  those  days — 
this  is  a  remarkably  high  average. 

The  early  meetings  in  the  new  rooms  were  somewhat 
protracted,  as,  after  the  papers  had  been  read,  there  were 
long  discussions  of  proposed  changes  in  the  constitution 
and  by-laws,  which  led  finally  to  the  embodying  of  all  the 
rules  and  regulations  in  a  revised  constitution  that  was 
adopted  on  March  6, 1876.  This  was  an  improvement  on 
the  old  order,  but  it  did  not  settle  one  moot  question  that 
was  first  raised  by  Edward  G.  Mason  when,  at  the  meeting 
on  November  16,  1874,  he  proposed  that  the  name  of  the 
club  should  be  changed  from  The  Chicago  Literary  Club 
to  The  Marquette  Club.  Nothing  came  of  this  at  the  time, 
although  a  number  of  the  members  disliked  the  name  of 

[  34  ] 


Proposed  Changes  of  Name 

the  club,  feeling  that  It  was  too  pretentious  and  not  suffi- 
ciently distinctive.  But  no  one  was  able  to  suggest  a  better 
one,  all  things  considered.  Mason  and  MacVeagh  were  the 
most  insistent  upon  the  desirability  of  a  change,  and  both 
favored  the  imparting  ot  what  they  characterized  as  local 
color,  by  naming  the  club  after  the  famous  Jesuit  mis- 
sionary and  explorer,  whom  they  claimed  to  have  been 
the  first  Hterary  man  to  make  Chicago  his  dwelling  place. 
But  the  members  generally  were  not  impressed  by  the 
notion  that  Marquette  was  a  literary  man,  nor  did  they 
accept  the  fact  that  he  was  compelled  to  camp  here  dur- 
ing one  winter,  as  constituting  him  a  resident  of  Chicago. 
And  there  were  those  who  insisted  that  The  Marquette 
Club  sounds  too  much  like  The  Market  Club  to  connote 
"literary  and  aesthetic  culture." 

Mason  renewed  the  attack  in  a  contribution  to  an  "In- 
formal" or  group  of  short,  anonymous  papers  read  by  Dr. 
John  C.  Burroughs  at  the  meeting  on  June  3, 1876.  This 
was  followed  by  a  discussion  of  the  subject  in  the  course 
of  which  Mason  argued  in  favor  of  The  Marquette  Club, 
while  others  suggested  the  following  names  as  preferable 
and  equally  or  more  appropriate: The  Club; The  Chicago 
Lyceum ; The  Kinzie  Club ;  The  LaSalle  Club ; The  Sphinx 
Club;  The  Lawrence  Club  (in  honor  of  Judge  Lawrence, 
then  the  president);  The  Illinois  Club;  The  Thackeray 
Club;  The  Monroe  Club;  The  Garrick;  The  Lotos  Club; 
The  Irving  Club;  The  Chicago  Radical  Club;  The  Open 
Ballot  Club;  The  Great  American  Excelsior  Club;  The 
Miralac  Club;  The  What's  in  a  Name  Club;  The  Club 
Which  Is  Too  Modest  To  Say  What  It  Is;  The  Mayor 
Colvin  Club;  The  Belles  Lettres  Club;  The  Goodenough 

[  35 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

Club;  The  Brown  Club;  The  Amateur  Club;  The  Indian 
Club;  The  Club  for  the  Aggregation  and  Fostering  of  Old 
Citizens  Regardless  of  Qualification;  and,  finally,  The 
Marquette  Eye  and  Ear  Infirmary.  Mason  took  this 
chaffing  in  good  part,  though  he  continued  to  protest  that 
The  Chicago  Literary  Club  had  a  most  unpleasantly 
boastful  sound  that  jarred  upon  his  sensitive  ears. 

Young  though  the  club  was,  by  this  time  it  had  reached 
a  place  in  the  regard  of  most  of  its  active  members  that 
made  the  thought  of  a  change  in  its  name  repugnant  to 
them.  While  the  name  had  not  become  so  much  a  part 
of  the  club  as  it  is  now  after  the  lapse  of  half  a  century, 
even  then  associations  had  attached  to  it.  The  name  had 
not  made  the  club;  but  it  was  plainly  recognized  that 
already  the  club  had  put  its  own  impress  upon  the  name. 
Gradually  and  without  any  heralding  by  the  press,  save 
the  account  of  the  first  annual  dinner  and  the  printing  of 
the  paper  on  "Myths  and  Miracles"  read  by  Dr.  Kauf- 
mann  Kohler  at  the  sixth  regular  meeting  held  on  October 
19,  1874,  it  became  known  among  the  men  of  intellectual 
taste  in  the  city  that  the  meetings  of  the  club  were  no 
ordinary  gatherings.  Membership  in  an  organization  that 
included  many  of  the  most  eminent  men  in  the  com- 
munity was  eagerly  sought  and  was  justly  regarded  as  a 
high  honor.  But  from  the  first  it  was  perceived  that  it 
would  be  easier  to  maintain  the  standard  that  had  been 
set,  if  candidates  were  not  permitted  to  make  application 
direct,  but  were  proposed  by  the  members;  the  theory 
being  that  so  far  as  possible  no  one  should  be  admitted 
who  would  not  strengthen  the  club.  This  led  to  such  rigid 
scrutiny  of  the  character  and  qualifications  of  all  whose 

[  36  ] 


Merited  Reparatio 


N 


names  were  proposed  and  to  the  rejection  of  so  many 
candidates,  that  men  of  unimpeachable  fitness  sometimes 
hesitated  to  let  their  names  be  presented,  and  the  club 
acquired  the  reputation  of  being  the  most  exclusive  and 
difficult  to  gain  access  to  of  any  in  the  city. 

Such  being  the  case  one  might  suppose  that  all  of  those 
who  were  within  the  fold  would  have  prized  their  mem- 
bership privilege  too  highly  to  forfeit  it;  yet  at  the  end  of 
the  second  season,  Secretary  Mason  was  obliged  to  report 
that  the  names  of  twelve  members  had  been  dropped  from 
the  rolls  for  failure  to  pay  their  dues.  The  majority  of 
these  had  not  attended  the  meetings  and  therefore  had 
never  become  really  identified  with  the  club.  Some  there 
were,  however,  who  were  perhaps  entitled  to  more  con- 
sideration than  they  received.  That  is  certainly  true  in  the 
case  of  Francis  Fisher  Browne  to  whose  initiative  more 
than  that  of  any  other  man,  as  has  been  set  forth  in  the 
preceding  chapter,  the  founding  of  the  club  was  due.  As 
was  most  fitting,  his  name  was  placed  upon  the  roll  of 
members  at  the  first  preliminary  meeting,  but  he  was  then 
seriously  ill  and  unable  to  make  any  response.  A  short 
time  after  he  was  taken  to  the  South  to  recuperate,  and 
he  was  still  absent  from  the  city  and  in  ignorance  of  what 
was  done,  when  on  October  i,  1875,  his  name  was  taken 
from  the  roll.  Not  until  some  time  later  did  he  return  to 
Chicago  and  learn  that  he  had  been  made  a  member  and 
then  dropped  from  the  club.  Then,  feeling  too  deeply  hurt 
to  make  complaint,  he  said  nothing.  A  less  sensitive  per- 
son would  have  secured  reinstatement  at  once,  and  it  is 
greatly  to  be  regretted  that  Mr.  Browne  did  not  make  the 
effort,  for  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  injustice  done  to 

1 37 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

him  was  unwitting  and  without  knowledge  of  his  illness 
and  absence.  Not  until  many  years  afterward  did  the  facts 
become  known,  and  then  to  the  credit  of  the  club  be  it  said 
that  it  honored  itself  by  offering  such  reparation  as  lay 
in  its  power  and  making  him  an  honorary  member  as  of 
March  13,  1874. 

From  the  men  whose  names  were  submitted  during  the 
second  session,  forty-four  were  elected  and  all  of  them 
accepted  and  qualified  save  one,  a  clergyman  who  de- 
clined because  he  could  not  be  free  on  the  evening  when 
the  club  held  its  meetings.  Among  the  forty-three  who 
accepted  were  many  whom  we  hold  in  warm  regard,  in- 
cluding four.  Dr.  Charles  Adams,  Joseph  Adams,  Owen 
F.  Aldis,  and  Robert  Todd  Lincoln,  who,  happily,  were 
still  with  us  at  the  end  of  our  first  fifty  years.  To  each 
one  of  the  thirty-nine  who  are  gone,  I  feel  tempted  to 
pay  at  least  the  passing  tribute  of  the  mention  of  his 
name.  But  some  were  more  intimately  connected  with 
the  club  than  were  the  others,  and  of  these  only  shall 
I  speak.  The  earliest  elected  was  Charles  True  Adams,  a 
brilliant  young  lawyer  whose  untimely  death  was  deeply 
lamented  when  he  passed  away  on  February  28,  1877. 
George  Clinton  Clark,  who  was  elected  at  the  same  meet- 
ing as  Mr.  Adams,  was  another  member  whose  life  was 
cut  short  before  his  time.  It  is  thirty-seven  years  since 
he  died,  yet  I  have  a  vivid  recollection  of  the  grief  we  all 
felt  when  he  was  taken  from  us.  Murry  Nelson,  Norman 
Williams,  and  General  George  W.  Smith,  who  were  elected 
on  October  18,1 875,  were  deeply  attached  to  the  club  and 
were  among  the  regular  attendants.  Their  names  and  the 
names  of  John  Crerar,  John  G.  Shortall,  James  A.  Hunt, 

[  38  ] 


Our  }amks  Norton 


Walter  Cranston  Larnetl,  George  L.  Paddock,  Bryan 
Lathrop  Bronson,  Peck,  John  W.  Root,  John  J.  Herrick, 
George  E.  Adams,  and  Benjamin  D.  Magruder  call  up 
faces  and  awaken  precious  memories  of  the  days  that 
were.  Fewer  of  us,  perhaps,  recall  George  P.  A.  Hcaley, 
the  eminent  portrait  painter,  since  much  of  his  life  was 
spent  in  Paris.  And  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  S,  Harris,  though 
he  was  a  devoted  member,  was  soon  called  away  to  become 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Bishop  of  Michigan.  More  per- 
haps will  recall  that  most  delightfully  genial  and  always 
mentally  alert  Englishman,  the  Rev.  Brooke  Herford.  He 
was  with  us  for  a  few  years  only,  but  in  those  years  he 
made  a  deep  impression  on  his  fellow  members.  And  who 
among  us  that  knew  him  can  ever  forget  James  Sager  Nor- 
ton? To  those  whose  memories  do  not  reach  back  to  his 
day — his  life  came  to  an  end  in  September,  1896 — it  is 
not  easy  to  describe  his  rare  personality.  He  was  indeed 
sui  generis,  yet  without  any  trace  of  eccentricity.  It  was 
his  unfailing  courtesy,  his  gracious  manner,  his  inimi- 
tably quiet  way  of  speaking,  and  his  flashing  wit  free  from 
the  least  trace  of  anything  save  pure  fun,  that  marked 
him  as  different  from  other  men.  But  Norton  was  not 
merely  the  member  whom  we  were  always  eager  to  hear 
when  we  could  persuade  him  to  address  us,  or  when  some- 
thing chanced  to  bring  forth  a  sally  that  enraptured  us  at 
the  time  and  would  evoke  joyous  ripples  oi  laughter  as 
often  as  it  was  recalled:  in  all  that  goes  to  make  a  man, 
— character,  serious  aims,  devotion  to  duty,  profession- 
al standing,  thoughtful  kindness  to  his  fellows,  stead- 
fastness, and  capacity  for  friendship,  he  measured  up  to 
the  highest  standard.  The  membership  rolls  of  the  club 

(  3'J  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

include  the  names  of  many  who  have  shed  lustre  upon  it 
but  none  who  will  be  dearer  to  us  than  James  Norton — 
our  James,  for  somehow  he  seemed  in  a  very  special  and 
intimate  way  to  be  an  integral  part  of  the  club,  and  it  can 
never  again  be  quite  the  same  as  when  he  was  with  us,  for 
there  was  only  one  James  Norton,  and  there  can  never 
be  another. 

Notwithstanding  the  large  number  of  members  elected 
during  the  third  season,  at  its  close  the  resident  member- 
ship, which  stood  at  io8  at  the  end  of  the  second  season, 
had  increased  only  to  128.  Twelve  members  had  been 
dropped,  eight  had  removed  from  the  city  and  were  trans- 
ferred to  the  non-resident,  then  designated  as  the  honor- 
ary, list;  five,  four  of  whom  were  clergymen,  had  resigned 
because  of  inability  to  attend  the  meetings.  Two  had  died, 
William  E.  Doggett  and  General  Joseph  Dana  Webster. 
Both  of  these  men  were  of  engaging  personality  and  of 
distinction  in  the  community;  they  were  devoted  to  the 
club  and  by  their  presence  at  its  meetings  had  helped 
much  to  make  them  enjoyable.  Their  loss  was  keenly  felt. 
The  memorial  of  Mr.  Doggett,  made  at  the  special  meet- 
ing held  at  the  time  of  his  death,  records  that  he  was  a 
gentleman  whose  courtly  bearing,  literary  cultivation, 
catholicity  of  thought,  refinement  of  feeling,  and  exquisite 
sensibility  to  art  peculiarly  fitted  him  for  the  companion- 
ship of  a  club  "the  object  of  which  is  not  less  to  foster 
friendship  than  to  encourage  intellectual  improvement." 
To  this  characterization  I  am  unable  to  add  anything  as 
I  did  not  become  a  member  of  the  club  until  a  year  later 
and  it  was  not  my  privilege  to  know  Mr.  Doggett.  For 
the  same  reason  I  can  give  no  personal  impression  of  Gen- 

[  4°  ] 


JAMES     SAGER    NORTON 


A  Distinguished  Early  Member 

eral  Webster.  I  well  remember  the  expressions  of  admira- 
tion by  those  who  did  know  these  men  that  the  mention 
of  their  names  was  sure  to  evoke.  And  this  seems  a  fitting 
place  to  insert  a  brief  biographical  sketch  of  General  Web- 
ster that  Horace  White  sent  to  the  club  a  short  time 
before  his  death.  In  the  course  of  a  long  talk  about  the 
early  days  of  the  club  which  I  had  with  him  when  he  made 
his  last  visit  to  Chicago,  I  told  him  that  it  was  my  inten- 
tion to  write  a  history  of  our  organization  and  he  offered 
this  account  of  the  life  of  his  old  friend  and  business  asso- 
ciate as  his  contribution  to  the  work. 

"Gener^il  Webster  was  born  in  Old  Hampton,  New 
Hampshire, on  August  25, 181 1,  a  son  of  Josiah  Webster 
who  was  pastor  at  Hampton  from  1808  until  his  death  in 
1837.  The  son  was  graduated  at  Dartmouth  in  1832,  and 
read  law  in  Newburyport,  Massachusetts,  but  became  a 
clerk  in  the  engineer  and  war  offices  in  Washington,  was 
made  a  United  States  civil  engineer  in  1835,  ^^^^  o'"^  J^^Y 
7, 1 838,  entered  the  army  as  a  second  lieutenant  of  topo- 
graphical engineers.  He  served  throughout  the  Mexican 
War,  was  promoted  to  first  lieutenant  on  July  14,  1849, 
and  captain  on  March  3,  1853,  but  resigned  on  April  7, 
1854,  and  removed  to  Chicago,  where  he  engaged  in  busi- 
ness. He  was  president  of  the  commission  that  perfected 
the  remarkable  system  of  sewerage  for  the  city,  and  also 
planned  and  executed  the  operations  whereby  the  grade 
of  a  large  part  of  the  city  was  made  from  two  to  eight 
feet  higher,  whole  blocks  and  buildings  being  raised  by 
jack-screws  while  new  foundations  were  inserted.  At  the 
opening  of  the  Civil  War,  he  entered  the  service  of  the 
state,  taking  charge  of  the  construction  of  fortifications 

[  41 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

at  Cairo,  Illinois,  and  Paducah,  Kentucky,  in  April,  and 
on  June  i,  1861,  was  appointed  an  additional  paymaster 
of  volunteers  with  the  rank  of  major.  On  February  i, 
1862,  he  became  colonel  of  the  First  Illinois  Light  Artil- 
lery. He  was  chief  of  General  Grant's  staff  for  several 
months,  was  present  at  the  capture  of  Fort  Henry  and 
Fort  Donelson,  and  at  Shiloh  was  also  chief  of  artillery. 
At  the  close  of  the  first  day's  fight  at  Shiloh  he  occupied 
with  all  the  available  artillery  the  ridge  that  covered 
Pittsburg  Landing,  thus  checking  the  hitherto  victorious 
Confederates.  He  received  the  highest  commendation  in 
General  Grant's  official  report,  and  continued  to  be  his 
chief  of  staff,  until,  in  October,  1 862,  he  was  detailed  by 
the  War  Department  to  make  a  survey  of  the  Illinois  and 
Michigan  Canal.  He  was  appointed  a  brigadier  general  of 
volunteers  on  November  29,  1862,  and,  after  serving  for 
some  time  as  military  governor  of  Memphis,  Tennessee, 
and  as  superintendent  of  military  railroads,  was  again 
General  Grant's  chief  of  staff  in  the  Vicksburg  campaign, 
and  from  1864  until  the  close  of  hostilities  he  held  the 
same  post  under  General  Sherman.  He  was  with  General 
George  H.Thomas  at  the  battle  of  Nashville.  On  March 
13,  1865,  he  was  given  the  brevet  of  major  general  of 
volunteers  for  faithful  and  meritorious  service  during  the 
war.  He  resigned  on  November  6,  1865,  and  returned  to 
Chicago,  where  he  remained  until  his  death  on  March  12, 
1876. 

"General  Webster  was  assessor  of  internal  revenue  in 
Chicago  from  1869  until  1872,  and  then  assistant  United 
States  treasurer  there  until  July,  1872,  when  he  became 
the  collector  of  internal  revenue.  He  was  also  chairman 

[  42  ] 


The  Meeting  Night  Changed 

of  the  executive  committee  of  the  National  Kansas  Com- 
mittee in  1 856,  of  which  George  W.  Dole  was  treasurer,  H. 
B.  Hurd,  secretary,  and  Horace  White,  assistant  secre- 
tary. This  was  an  organization  formed  at  a  National 
Convention  held  in  Buffalo,  New  York,  in  July  1856,  to 
support  the  Free  State  movement  in  Kansas.  Its  head- 
quarters were  in  Chicago.  General  Webster  was  a  man  of 
attractive  presence,  genial  manners  and  sterling  charac- 
ter. At  the  time  when  I  came  to  Chicago  to  make  it  my 
place  of  residence,  at  the  beginning  of  1854,  ^^  ^^^^  ^^^ 
of  the  foremost  citizens." 

The  election  of  officers  and  committees  for  the  fourth 
season  was  held  on  June  10, 1876.  Dr.  Hosmer  A.  Johnson 
was  chosen  as  president;  Edward  G.  Mason,  Dr.  William 
F.  Poole,  and  Daniel  L.  Shorey  were  made  vice-presi- 
dents; and  William  Eliot  Furness,  secretary  and  treasurer. 
As  the  season  came  to  an  end  it  was  felt  by  all  that  it  had 
been  very  successful  and  enjoyable.  Several  important 
innovations  had  been  made.  One  of  these,  the  serving  of 
a  collation  on  the  evenings  devoted  to  business  has  already 
been  recounted.  Another  was  the  holding  of  a  meeting 
every  week  instead  of  only  once  in  a  fortnight.  Perhaps 
the  most  important  of  all  was  the  change  in  the  meeting 
night  from  Saturday  to  Monday.  This  was  proposed  at 
the  April  business  meeting  but  action  upon  the  constitu- 
tional amendment  was  postponed  until  the  last  meeting 
of  the  season,  and  a  postal-card  vote  was  taken  to  learn 
the  individual  preferences  of  the  members.  Although  this 
showed  a  large  majority  in  favor  of  Monday  evenings, 
the  change  was  opposed  by  a  very  insistent  minority,  and 
there  was  a  prolonged  discussion  before  the  amendment 

[   43   ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

was  adopted.  The  decision  having  at  last  been  reached, 
the  forty-seven  members  present  sat  down  to  a  collation 
and  then  listened  to  Dr.  Johnson's  inaugural  address.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  that  since  that  meeting  no  member  has 
ever  proposed  the  selection  of  another  evening  than  Mon- 
day for  our  meetings.  We  recognize,  of  course,  that  some 
among  us  cannot  always  be  free  on  that  evening,  yet  no 
other  seems  at  all  likely  to  suit  the  most  of  us  nearly  so 
well. 


[   44   ] 


Chapter  IV 

THE  fourth  season,  whicli  opened  on  October  2, 
1876,  when  x^lfred  Bishop  Mason  read  a  paper  on 
*'The  AboHtion  of  Poverty,"  was  even  more  suc- 
cessful than  its  predecessors.  The  long  struggle  to  get  a 
constitution  that  would  ensure  the  smooth  working  of 
the  machinery  of  the  club  had  very  nearly  come  to  an 
end,  and  with  the  conduct  of  its  affairs  placed  in  the  hands 
of  standing  committees,  much  less  time  than  formerly 
was  required  for  the  consideration  of  business  by  the  club 
as  a  whole.  There  was  a  steady  growth  in  the  membership 
and  at  the  close  of  the  year  there  were  one  hundred  and 
forty-nine  names  on  the  resident  list.  Only  one  member 
had  died  during  the  year,  Charles  True  Adams,  whose 
early  death  was  greatly  lamented.  Two  among  those 
admitted,  Elbridge  G.  Keith  and  the  Rev.  Edward  F. 
Williams,  should  be  mentioned  specially,  as  to  the  end  of 
their  lives  they  were  actively  identified  with  the  club  and 
constant  in  their  attendance  at  its  meetings. 

It  was  not  a  season  of  many  notable  incidents.  The 
records  show  only  a  few  occurrences  out  of  the  ordinary. 
Among  these  was  the  first  occasion  where  an  essayist 
failed  to  keep  his  appointment.  There  was  no  lack  of  enter- 
tainment, however,  for  William  M.  R.  French  came  for- 
ward and  gave  an  impromptu  talk  on  "Graphic  Art," 
which  he  illustrated  with  drawings  made  in  the  presence 
of  the  audience.  This  was  received  with  such  marked 
approval  that  Secretary  Furness  put  the  statement  on 

[  45 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

record  that  only  "after  a  few  very  pleasant  hours"  did  the 
meeting  adjourn.  Another  episode  that  occurred  a  little 
later  in  the  season  serves  to  show  how  devoted  to  the  club 
the  members  had  become.  On  the  evening  of  January  15, 
1877,  a  blizzard  was  raging  that  had  forced  an  entire 
suspension  of  the  street  car  service, — horse-car  service 
it  then  was;  yet  eleven  members  plodded  on  foot  through 
the  wind  and  snow  and  gathered  in  the  club  rooms  with 
the  prospect  of  listening  to  or  taking  part  in  a  conversa- 
tion on  "Tax  Legislation."  But  when  they  were  gathered 
about  the  open  fire  in  the  smoking  room,  they  merely 
swapped  stories  for  awhile,  voted  tax  legislation  a  bore, 
and  then  cheerfully  set  forth  to  trudge  homeward  through 
the  deepening  snow. 

To  me  personally  this  season  is  memorable,  as  it  was 
the  one  in  which  I  was  elected  a  member.  I  have  often 
wondered  at  my  great  good  fortune  in  being  admitted  into 
this  choice  circle  of  which  I  was  for  a  long  time  the  young- 
est member.  The  first  meeting  that  I  attended  was  that  of 
March  5,  1877.  Edward  Mason  was  in  the  chair,  and  Dr. 
Charles  Gilman  Smith  read  a  paper  on  "The  Physical 
Basis  of  Character,"  in  which  he  held  that  climatic  con- 
ditions here  in  America  have  marked  influence  in  amal- 
gamating immigrants  and  natives  into  a  homogenous 
stock  having  very  similar  physical  characteristics.  I  shall 
never  forget  the  cordial  reception  with  which  I  was  wel- 
comed when  I  was  introduced  to  the  group  of  members 
gathered  in  the  smoking  room  before  the  paper  was  read. 
It  may  be  of  interest  to  have  me  call  the  roll.  Besides 
Ned  Mason  and  Dr.  Smith,  and  Secretary  Furness  who 
was  my  next  door  neighbor  and  with  whom  I  had  come  to 

[  46  ] 


A  Rejected  Offer 


the  meeting,  there  were  present  Daniel  L.  Shorey,  Murry 
Nelson,  John  G.  Shortall,  James  A.  Hunt,  Judge  John  G. 
Rogers,  Joseph  Adams,  General  Alexander  C.  McClurg, 
General  Joseph  B.  Leake,  Major  Joseph  Kirkland, 
Edward  D.  Hosmer,  Dr.  James  Nevins  Hyde,  Dr.  Henry 
Hooper,  Alonzo  Abernathy,  Bronson  Peck,  William  H. 
Barnum,  George  F.  Harding,  Samuel  Appleton,  Horatio 
L.  Wait,  Samuel  P.  McConnell,  Horace  W.  S.  Cleveland, 
Leroy  D.  Mansfield,  Dr.  William  F.  Poole,  Samuel 
Bliss,  Max  Hjortsberg,  William  H.  Clarke,  Cecil  Barnes, 
George  Howland,  William  Macdonell,  Frederick  B. 
Smith,  Rev.  Dr.  John  C.  Burroughs,  John  Wilkinson, 
John  J.  Herrick,  Major  Henry  A.  Huntington,  Henry  D. 
Lloyd,  Albert  ^L  Day,  Edward  O.  Brown — who  was  not 
then  Judge  Brown.  With  the  possible  exception  of  Samuel 
Appleton,  about  whom  I  have  heard  nothing  for  many 
years,  all  these  men  save  Joseph  Adams  have  passed 
away.  Most  of  them  I  then  met  for  the  first  time.  To  me 
the  recital  of  their  names  means  a  great  deal.  Many  of 
them  became  my  very  dear  friends,  and  most  of  our  older 
members  could  make  the  same  assertion  for  themselves. 
About  the  time  I  was  admitted  to  the  club  one  of  the 
leading  photographers  in  the  city  offered  to  take  the  pho- 
tographs of  all  of  the  members  for  a  very  small  price, 
assuming  that  enough  extra  prints  would  be  ordered  to 
make  the  transaction  profitable.  The  offer  was  referred 
to  the  executive  committee,  of  which  Dr.  Poole  was  the 
chairman.  I  recall  quite  distinctly  the  business  meeting 
when  he  reported  that  the  committee  regarded  the 
proposition  favorably  and  he  moved  that  the  photographs 
be  taken  and  kept  in  an  album  or  albums  to  be  a  part  of 

I    47   1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

the  archives  of  the  club.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that 
the  club  did  not  agree  with  the  committee.  We  can  now 
see  clearly  that  such  a  collection  of  the  portraits  of  the 
members  would  be  a  possession  we  should  greatly  treas- 
ure. But  the  wits  of  the  club  were  at  that  time  ever  eager 
for  an  opportunity  to  poke  fun  at  anything  and  everything 
that  offered  a  fair  target.  And  when  Dr.  Poole  had  moved 
the  acceptance  of  the  report,  Samuel  Appleton,  who  was 
something  of  a  wag,  made  a  humorous  speech  pointing 
out  the  chagrin  we  should  feel  at  seeing  a  lot  of  photo- 
graphs grouped  In  the  photographer's  window  and  accom- 
panied by  a  placard  reciting  in  large  letters  that  these 
were  the  portraits  of  the  distinguished  gentlemen  calling 
themselves  The  Chicago  Literary  Club,  special  emphasis 
being  placed  upon  the  "The."  Charles  Gregory,  who  had 
seconded  Dr.  Poole's  motion,  came  to  the  rescue  and  tried 
to  make  fun  of  Appleton's  fanciful  objection,  but  he  only 
succeeded  in  setting  off  Ned  Mason,  Harry  Huntington, 
Brooke  Herford,  William  Macdonell  and  Jim  Norton. 
Then  the  fun  became  "fast  and  furious."  I  do  not  think 
there  was  any  real  objection  to  the  proposition,  but  It 
could  not  stand  the  ridicule  and  the  flippant  jibes  that 
were  bandied  back  and  forth,  and  no  one  ever  afterward 
had  the  hardihood  to  bring  it  up  again.  As  for  the  jokers, 
when  they  had  slain  the  bugaboo  they  sat  down  to  a  colla- 
tion and  the  merriment  was  prolonged  until  the  time  for 
home  going  arrived. 

This  episode  had  a  sequel  which  is  not  mentioned  in 
the  club  records.  Fortunately,  however,  a  few  years  later 
Dr.  Nevins  Hyde  set  down  his  recollections  of  it  in  black 
and  white  for  our  benefit.  "There  had  been,"  he  tells  us, 

[  48  ] 


Portraits  by  Brother  Wait 


**some  talk  of  collecting  the  photographs  of  members,  and 
Poole  had  put  forward  such  a  proposition.  For  some  of 
us  the  plan  was  not  without  a  vista  of  delightful  possi- 
bilities. Those  of  us  who  were  very  little  known,  might 
thus  be  enabled  to  appear  in  the  company  of  the  relatively 
great.  Questions  of  minor  importance  did  not  fail  to  sug- 
gest themselves.  Should  the  attire  be  full  evening  dress 
for  those  who  at  that  early  day  were  fortunate  enough 
to  be  provided  with  such  garments?  Or  was  the  idea 
rather  a  presentation  of  the  membership  of  the  club  as  it 
appeared  oh  ordinary  occasions,  say  with  a  pepper-and- 
salt  suggestiveness  in  the  coat,  and  a  collar  not  too  closely 
assimilated  to  the  style  adopted  by  the  average  Wall 
street  broker?  It  was  then  that  Brother  Horatio  Wait 
appeared  in  the  role  of  the  *God  from  the  machine.'  At 
the  next  meeting  after  that  at  which  Poole's  proposition 
had  been  wrecked,  he  presented  himself  before  the  club 
with  the  statement  that  he  had  been  thinking  over  the 
matter  of  photographing  the  members,  and  this  opening 
sentence  caused  our  hopes  to  run  high.  But  he  went  on 
to  add  that  the  idea  had  occurred  to  him  of  reproducing 
the  faces  and  figures  of  the  brethren  of  the  club,  not  as 
they  actually  were,  but  only  as  they  wished  they  might 
be.  On  this  he  exhibited  a  series  of  sketches  which  he  had 
made  of  certain  selected  individuals,  selected  not  so  much 
for  their  mental  acquirements  as  for  their  physical  peculi- 
arities. Thus  James  High  was  portrayed  as  an  exceedingly 
short  man;  and  your  present  reader,  by  way  of  contrast, 
was  depicted  in  the  elongated  proportions  peculiar  to  Mr. 
High.  Norman  C.  Perkins,  the  clever  writer  of  verses,  who 
had  a  sufficiently  ample  girth  measure,  was  delineated  as 

[   49    ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

one  of  the  slender  order  of  Byronic  poets,  with  long  hair 
and  a  rolling  collar.  But  the  piece  de  resistance  of  the  col- 
lection was  a  portrait  representing  our  present  master- 
in-chancery — 'the  artist  himself — in  a  character  which 
he  declared  was  the  ambition  of  his  heart.  It  was  that  of 
a  corsair  with  drawn  scimitar." 

It  is  a  pity  that  these  suggestive  pictures,  which  were 
of  good  size  and  done  in  colored  crayons,  were  not  pre- 
sented to  the  club. 

As  the  winter  of  1876  — 1877  drew  to  a  close,  it  became 
evident  that  the  club  rooms  were  no  longer  sufficiently 
commodious.  Accordingly,  on  May  i,  two  rooms  across 
the  corridor  to  the  north  were  leased,  and  these  rooms 
which  were  identical  in  size  with  those  already  occupied 
by  the  club  were  thrown  into  one,  making  an  assembly 
room  much  better  adapted  to  our  needs  than  any  we  had 
had  hitherto.  To  enable  the  club  to  meet  the  increased 
rent  without  further  increasing  the  dues,  which  had  been 
raised  to  fifteen  dollars  the  year  before,  it  was  arranged 
that  The  Fortnightly  of  Chicago,  the  ladies'  literary  club 
that  had  been  founded  largely  through  the  initiative  of 
Mrs.  Kate  Newell  Doggett,  wife  of  William  E.  Doggett, 
about  a  year  before  our  club  was  organized,  should  have 
the  use  of  the  rooms  for  their  meetings.  This  was  strenu- 
ously opposed  by  Edward  Mason  who  never  could  bear 
the  thought  of  anything  but  the  exclusive  use  of  the  club 
rooms  by  the  club  itself,  and  who  maintained  that  this 
was  essential  to  the  home  feeling  that  was  an  important 
factor  in  keeping  the  members'  affection  for  the  club 
deep  and  strong.  He  was,  however,  outvoted  and  I  do  not 
think  the  club  suffered  in  consequence.  Still  we  all  must 

[  5°  ] 


A  Startling  Innovation 


sympathize  with  his  feeling,  though  we  may  regard  it  as 
somewhat  ov-erwrought. 

The  new  room  was  not  ready  for  use  until  the  end  of 
the  season  when  on  June  25,  1877,  the  annual  dinner  was 
served  in  it,  and  Daniel  L.  Shorey,the  presitient-elect  for 
the  ensuing  year,  delivered  his  inaugural  address. 

When  in  October  the  meetings  were  resumed,  it  was 
found  that  the  committee  on  arrangements  and  exercises 
of  which  Dr.  Charles  Oilman  Smith  was  the  chairman  had 
ventured  upon  the  startling  innovation  of  making  Octo- 
ber 29  of  that  year  a  ladies'  night.  Mason  was  in  arms  at 
once,  but  there  was  no  business  meeting  before  October 
22,  and  until  then  he  could  only  fret  and  fume.  When 
October  22  arrived  it  was  too  late  to  prevent  the  holding 
of  the  reception,  but  he  made  haste  to  offer  this  resolution : 

Whereas,  the  constitution  of  The  Chicago  Literary 
Club  provides  in  Article  VI,  Section  I,  that  no  resident 
of  Chicago  or  vicinity  shall  be  invited  to  attend  a  meet- 
ing of  said  club;  and 

Whereas,  it  is  understood  that  a  large  number  of  per- 
sons who  are  residents  of  Chicago  or  vicinity  have  been 
invited  to  attend  such  a  meeting. 

Resolved,  that  the  members  of  the  club  here  present 
are  of  the  opinion  that  any  violation  of  the  constitution  is 
to  be  deprecated,  and  that  hereafter  all  of  its  provisions 
should  be  strictly  observed. 

As  this,  after  considerable  discussion,  did  not  meet 
with  favor,  Mason  withdrew  it  and  offered  as  a  substitute : 

Resolved,  that  the  members  of  the  club  here  present 
are  not  in  favor  of  inviting  ladies  to  attend  the  meetings 
of  the  club. 

( 51  1 


^ 


A^ 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

This  resolution  fared  no  better  than  the  other.  When 
it  was  ordered  laid  upon  the  table,  Alfred  Bishop  Mason 
proposed  an  amendment  to  the  constitution  having  the 
same  effect,  but  this  also  failed  of  adoption  when  it  came 
up  at  the  next  business  meeting.  And  so  the  reception  was 
held  and  it  proved  to  be  very  enjoyable.  It  was  attended 
by  sixty-seven  members  and,  in  the  words  of  Secretary 
Furness  in  the  club  records,  "by  a  brilliant  assembly  of 
ladies,  including  a  delegation  of  The  Fortnightly  Club, 
making  in  all  a  meeting  of  some  hundred  and  fifty."  Thus 
was  inaugurated  the  custom  of  holding  ladies'  night  meet- 
ings. Notwithstanding  the  success  of  this  meeting  the 
opposition  of  some  of  the  members  was  so  persistent  that 
Dr.  Smith  was  in  doubt  as  to  what  he  should  do  about  the 
second  ladies'  night  that  was  scheduled  for  the  twenty- 
ninth  of  April.  Accordingly  at  the  meeting  held  on  March 
25,  1878,  he  asked  for  instructions  from  the  club.  Abram 
M.  Pence,  a  member  who  stood  high  in  the  esteem  of  his 
fellows,  moved  that  no  ladies  be  invited.  Major  Kirkland 
moved  to  amend  by  striking  out  the  word  "no."  This 
amendment  having  been  carried,  and  the  motion  carried, 
each  member  was  permitted  to  invite  one  lady  guest  to 
attend  the  meeting  on  April  29. 

To  the  ladies  of  The  Fortnightly  we  were  indebted  for 
sundry  embellishments  to  the  large  room,  among  them 
the  plaster  cast  of  the  statue  of  Dante  and  the  bust  of 
Homer  that  we  have  kept  in  all  of  our  migrations  until 
they  have  become  so  much  a  part  of  our  essential  belong- 
ings that  without  them  the  club  rooms  would  hardly  seem 
to  be  our  rooms.  Shortly  after  these  casts  were  presented 
to  us,  a  veil  dropped  by  one  of  the  ladies  at  a  Fortnightly 

[  52  ] 


An  Amusing  Incidrnt 


meeting  was  picked  up  by  the  janitor,  and  wishing  to  put 
it  where  the  owner  would  find  it  when  she  again  visited  the 
rooms,  he  draped  it  over  the  head  of  Homer  so  as  entirely 
to  conceal  the  face.  There  it  remained  when  Monday  eve- 
ning came  and  our  members  filed  across  the  hall  from 
the  smoking  room  where  they  had  gathered.  Charles 
Gregory  espied  it  and  when  Alfred  Mason's  proposed 
amendment  to  the  constitution  had  been  voted  down,  and 
a  special  committee  on  the  advisability  of  changing  the 
name  of  the  club  of  which  Alfred  Mason  was  the  chair- 
man had  reported  against  it,  Gregory  made  a  facetious 
speech  which  caused  much  laughter.  Having  gravely 
moved  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  unveil  the 
bust,  he  was  promptly  appointed  a  committee  of  one  and 
loudly  applauded  as  with  mock  solemnity  he  proceeded 
to  perform  the  task.  At  the  time  this  was  more  amusing 
than  it  seems  in  a  dry  recital.  It  is  mentioned  to  show 
how  ready  the  members  were  in  the  early  days  of  the  club 
to  seize  upon  every  opportunity  for  wholesome  fun. 

One  of  the  milestones  in  the  club's  history,  its  one 
hundredth  regular  meeting,  was  held  this  season,  on  Jan- 
uary 21, 1878.  At  the  business  meeting  a  week  later  a  rule 
was  adopted  forbidding  smoking  in  the  assembly  room 
where  the  papers  were  read,  and  requesting  the  president 
to  announce  this  at  each  meeting  or  whenever  it  should 
appear  to  him  necessary.  And  at  this  meeting  two  amend- 
ments to  the  constitution  were  proposed,  which  were 
adopted  at  the  next  business  meeting.  These  were: 

I .  No  announcement  of  the  result  of  any  election  shall 
be  made  until  all  the  candidates  to  be  presented  the  same 
evening  shall  have  been  balloted  for. 

[  53  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

2.  All  proceedings  relative  to  either  the  proposal  or  the 
election  or  non-election  of  candidates  are  to  be  regarded* 
as  strictly  private  and  not  to  be  mentioned  except  among 
members  of  the  club. 

A  few  quotations  from  the  reminiscences  of  Dr.  Hyde, 
Judge  Brown,  William  French,  and  Major  Huntington, 
read  at  the  meeting  to  celebrate  the  twenty-fifth  anni- 
versary of  the  founding  of  the  club,  will  show  the  need 
for  these  rules. 

Dr.  Hyde  said :  "The  air  was  heavy  at  times  with  storm 
and  stress  when  we  were  engaged  in  barring  out  new 
members  by  a  process  of  general  election  that  did  not 
elect.  Even  Mason's  stock  joke  about  copies  of  the  Bryant 
memorial  being  at  hand  for  those  desirous  of  securing 
them,  failed  to  pour  oil  on  the  troubled  waters.  There  was 
'blood  on  the  moon'  one  night  when  we  were  all  together, 
each  slaughtering  every  other  fellow's  candidate  for  mem- 
bership because  his  own  man  had  been  rejected.  It  was 
then  that  Judge  Doolittle  stalked  into  the  middle  of  the 
arena  with  a  big  stick  in  his  hand  and  in  portentous  tones 
read  us  a  lecture." 

Judge  Brown's  testimony  runs  thus:  "When  the  con- 
stitution making  had  been  completed  the  real  fun  began. 
It  consisted  in  blackballing  during  the  first  year  or  two  of 
our  existence,  I  should  think  on  an  average,  about  five  out 
of  six  of  the  persons  proposed.  In  those  days  we  were  not 
ruled  by  committees,  and  each  member,  upon  the  pres- 
entation of  a  name,  was  presented  with  the  fateful  box 
with  its  black  and  white  symbols  and  allowed  to  express 
secretly  his  choice.  Three  black  balls  were  sufficient  to 
defeat  a  candidate,  as  I  remember,  and  it  seemed  to  be 

[    54   1 


An  Orgy  of  Blackballing 


rarely  the  case  that  a  man  could  not  count  upon  at  least 
three  enemies  in  our  hody.  The  proposal  was  made  in  open 
meeting,  and  proposing  and  seconding  speeches  were 
made  setting  torth  the  qualifications  of  the  candidate. 
That  particular  class  of  literature  which  may  now  be  dis- 
tinctly recognized  and  differentiated  from  every  other 
and  entitled  nominating  speeches,  which  the  political 
conventions  of  the  country  during  the  last  quarter  of  a 
century  have  developed,  I  sometimes  think  had  its  feeble 
and  insignificant  beginning  in  our  club.  But  the  skillful 
manner,  however,  in  which  the  virtues  of  the  candidate 
are  first  depicted  in  glowing  words  and  the  climax  reached 
in  the  announcement  of  his  name,  was  not  known  in  our 
early  efforts,  and  a  certain  amount  of  sameness  was  ap- 
parent too.  The  proposer  would  arise,  announce  the  name 
of  his  candidate  for  admission  and  proceed,  in  a  great 
majority  of  cases,  to  say  that  his  qualifications  consisted 
in  his  being  'a  cultivated  man,  a  clubable  man,  and  of 
genial  disposition.'  The  statement  that  he  was 'a  lawyer 
and  a  graduate  of  Yale'  was  so  frequently  added  that  the 
phrase  became  a  byword  among  some  of  the  younger  and 
more  irreverent  members  of  the  club.  Then  the  seconder 
would  say  'ditto  to  Mr.  Burke'  and  the  box  would  be 
passed.  I  remember  that  on  one  occasion  when  it  was 
brought  to  the  president,  Mr.  Collyer,  for  inspection  and 
opened,  it  having  fallen  to  me  on  that  occasion  to  carry 
about  the  fateful  urn,  there  appeared  an  almost  unbroken 
array  of  black  balls.  Violating  for  once  the  unwritten  rule 
that  the  presiding  officer  should  only  say  whether  the 
candidate  was  elected  or  not  elected,  without  further  de- 
tailing the  result,  Mr.  Collyer  remarked:  'Gentlemen,  if 

[  55  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

the  black  balls  elected,  the  candidate  would  become  a 
member.'  That  was  pretty  hard  upon  so  'genial  and  club- 
able'  a  gentleman  as  the  proposer  and  seconder  asserted 
the  candidate  to  be;  but  it  might  be  explained  to  some 
extent  by  the  fact  that  the  seconder  had  previously  spoken 
to  me  and  I  suppose  to  other  members  of  the  club,  in- 
sisting that  he  had  been  actually  dragooned  into  lending 
his  name  to  the  application,  and  that  he  was  extremely 
anxious  that  two  others  at  least  should  be  found,  who 
with  himself,  should  vote  in  the  negative." 

Mr.  French  said, "I  do  not  remember  that  there  was 
such  wholesale  blackballing  of  candidates  as  indicated  in 
the  remarks  of  Mr.  Brown,  but  I  do  remember  that  there 
were  some  very  awkward  situations.  We  never  felt  safe. 
It  is  my  recollection  that,  on  the  occasion  alluded  to  when 
a  certain  candidate  was  unanimously  rejected,  the  presi- 
dent, in  announcing  the  result,  said:  'Gentlemen,  I  think 
you  must  have  mistaken  the  black  balls  for  white.'  But 
perhaps  it  was  on  another  occasion." 

Major  Huntington's  recollection  of  this  incident, which 
he  regarded  as  the  funniest  in  our  history,  differs  from 
both  of  the  others.  This  is  his  account  of  it:  "But  the 
lowest  depth  of  humiliation  was  reserved  for  Candidate 
C,  who  reached  the  last  stage  of  electoral  procedure. 
Powers  was  in  the  chair,  the  club  was  in  gracious  mood, 
and,  without  the  casting  of  a  single  black  ball,  had  elected 
all  the  candidates  but  the  last.  Against  him  Powers  knew 
nothing,  and  having  arranged  the  ballot-box,  he  said  in 
his  hearty  way:  'Come  up,  gentlemen,  and  elect  Mr.  C 
When  the  balls  had  been  deposited,  the  doctor  smilingly 
opened  the  box,  gave  a  start  of  comic  horror,  and  ex- 

[  56  ] 


A  Huntington  Bon  Mot 


claimed :  'Gentlemen,  the  decision  is  unanimous ^  Mr.  C.  is 
not  elected.' " 

This  episode  happened  before  I  was  a  member  of  the 
club.  I  shall  not  attempt  to  reconcile  the  discrepancies 
between  the  several  narratives;  but  I  have  a  clear  recol- 
lection that  the  blackballing  of  the  other  members' 
candidates  had  become  more  rather  than  less  frequent 
at  the  time  the  amendments  to  the  constitution  proposed 
by  Mr.  Herford  were  adopted.  The  members  knew  each 
other  so  well  that  when  a  candidate  was  rejected,  his 
friends  were  able  to  guess  with  reasonable  certainty  by 
whom  the  blackballs  had  been  cast;  and  by  deferring  the 
announcement  of  the  result  of  the  balloting  until  all  the 
candidates  had  been  voted  upon,  it  was  thought  that  any 
consideration  other  than  the  qualifications  of  the  candi- 
dates would  be  eliminated.  Judged  by  the  results  of  the 
balloting  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  there  was  not  at  any 
time  nearly  so  much  spite  voting  as  was  commonly  sup- 
posed. Harry  Huntington's  tale  of  the  deadly  effect  of 
Judge  Hibbard's  commendation  of  a  candidate  as  "a 
learned  man  who  always  spoke  in  a  dead  language  which 
he  murdered  as  he  went  along"  was  pure  fiction  evolved 
to  get  off  one  of  the  bons  mots  with  which  he  was  wont  to 
delight  us.  And  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  two  of  the 
candidates  who  were  unceremoniously  turned  down,  were 
later  admitted  to  full  membership  and  became  presidents 
of  the  club,  from  my  familiarity  with  the  proceedings  and 
my  knowledge  of  the  candidates  who  were  proposed,  I 
cannot  think  that  more  than  a  very  few  of  those  who  were 
excluded  were  men  whom  we  would  have  been  glad  to 
have  as  members  of  our  family  circle.  The  method  of 

I  57  I 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

election  in  open  meeting  was,  however,  both  cumbersome 
and  faulty.  One  might  have  grave  objection  to  a  candi- 
date, yet  hesitate  to  hurt  the  feelings  of  his  proposers  by 
making  a  speech  against  him.  And  because  any  suspicion 
of  faint  praise  on  the  part  of  the  proposers  was  almost 
certain  to  be  fatal  to  a  candidate,  the  stock  phrases  that 
Judge  Brown  commented  upon  came  into  general  use. 
Moreover,  it  was  awkward  to  pass  a  ballot-box  around 
when  from  fifty  to  seventy-five  members  were  present, 
and  only  a  little  less  so  was  the  plan  adopted  later  for 
members  to  form  in  line  and  march  up  to  the  secretary's 
table  to  cast  their  votes.  Not  until  i88i,when  the  last 
general  revision  of  the  rules  was  made,  was  the  respon- 
sibility of  passing  upon  the  qualifications  of  candidates 
entrusted  to  an  electoral  committee. 

This  chapter  may  be  ended  by  the  relation  of  a  little 
incident  that  will  signify  more  to  the  older  members  of 
the  club  than  to  those  who  are  too  young  to  remember 
the  reputation  of  Leonard  Swett  and  Emory  A.  Storrs, 
two  of  the  best  known  lawyers  in  the  city,  both  men 
of  brilliant  intellect  and  highly  gifted  as  orators.  Neither 
of  them,  it  maybe  said  in  passing,  could  by  any  possibility 
have  been  elected  to  membership  in  the  club.  One  eve- 
ning, shortly  after  the  writer  was  admitted  to  the  fold, 
a  few  of  us  who  had  arrived  a  little  earlier  than  the  others 
were  seated  in  a  semi-circle  about  a  blazing  fire  in  the 
grate  in  the  smoking  room,  when  Professor  Swing  joined 
us.  He  was  always  a  very  jolly  comrade,  but  that  night  he 
was  in  high  glee.  "In  the  street  car  in  which  I  came  to 
the  meeting,"  he  quietly  remarked  in  the  dry  and  delib- 
erate manner  that  he  made  so  effective,  "Leonard  Swett 

[  58 1 


Told  by  David  Swing 


and  Emory  Storrs  were  seated  opposite  me.  They  were 
eagerly  discussing  what  constituted  eloquence  and  both 
oi  them  agreed  that  no  man  could  be  truly  eloquent 
unless  he  were  a  person  of  the  highest  moral  character." 


59 


Chapter  V 

A  SIDE  from  the  effort  to  keep  the  ckib  rooms  for  the 
/  %  exclusive  use  of  its  members  and  their  non-resi- 
JL  jL.  dent  male  guests,  as  related  in  the  last  chapter, 
the  season  of  1 877-1 878  was  marked  by  few  incidents  out 
of  the  ordinary.  The  meetings  were  very  well  attended, 
and,  on  those  devoted  to  business,  the  discussions,  which 
were  always  good-natured,  were  made  highly  enjoyable 
by  the  witty  sallies  for  which  they  gave  opportunities 
that  some  of  the  members  were  ever  quick  to  seize.  In 
particular  Edward  Mason  and  his  brother  Alfred,  or  Fred 
as  we  familiarly  called  him,  James  Norton,  Henry  Hun- 
tington, Brooke  Herford,  and  Dr.  Charles  Oilman  Smith 
were  always  keenly  alert,  and  their  clever  bons  mots  added 
much  gayety  to  sessions  that  might  otherwise  have  been 
somewhat  dull  and  uninteresting,  for  in  those  days  it 
will  be  remembered,  the  fourth  Monday  evening  of  each 
month  was  set  aside  for  the  business  of  the  club,  and  the 
eating  of  a  collation — no  literary  exercises  being  sched- 
uled. 

On  the  other  evenings  the  quality  of  the  literary  work 
was  in  the  main  excellent,  and  some  of  it  extremely  good. 
Even  after  the  lapse  of  forty-six  years,  the  writer  still 
retains  a  vivid  recollection  of  the  effect  upon  the  audi- 
ence of  the  exquisitely  delightful  phrasing  and  telling 
comment  that  distinguished  Major  Huntington's  essay 
entitled  "A  Predecessor  of  Tennyson."  Almost  equally 
electrifying  was  William  Macdonell's  paper  on  "Utilitari- 

[  60  ] 


The  New  Epic 


anism."  Macdonell  was  a  young  Englishman  of  marked 
literary  ability.  His  clear  grip  upon  his  subject  and  his 
forceful  and  effective  presentation  of  it  and  of  its  implica- 
tions as  they  were  then  understood, made  a  most  fav^orable 
impression  upon  all  those  who  heard  him. 

Another  paper  read  during  that  season  also  made  a 
deep  impression,  though  of  another  sort.  In  the  memory 
of  those  who  listened  to  it — of  whom,  besides  myself, 
only  Joseph  Adams,  Alfred  Bishop  Mason,  and  Clarence 
Burley  are  now  living — it  seems  almost  as  fantastic  as 
the  preamble  to  the  famous  draft  of  the  proposed  con- 
stitution that  we  cannot  think  of  without  mirth.  "The 
New  Epic,"  however,  for  such  was  its  title,  was  not 
mirth  provoking.  It  was  merely  a  feeble  attempt  at  fine 
writing,  and,  unless  my  recollection  is  grievously  at  fault 
it  lacked  both  coherency  and  lucidity.  When  it  was  read 
it  aroused  no  sensation  save  weariness.  The  real  sensa- 
tion came  a  little  later  when  the  putative  author  was 
sued  by  a  young  man — s.  former  clerk  in  his  law  office — 
for  his  compensation  for  helping  to  write  it!  Whether  he 
won  his  suit  I  do  not  know,  but  the  defendant  was  never 
afterward  asked  to  write  another  paper  for  the  club.  This 
incident,  it  should  be  said,  has  no  parallel  in  our  history. 

At  the  annual  election  on  June  lo,  1878,  Edward  Gay 
Mason  was  chosen  president  for  the  ensuing  season.  His 
inaugural  address  delivered  at  the  annual  dinner  on  the 
24th  of  the  same  month  is  a  masterpiece,  from  which,  if 
only  to  show  the  charm  of  his  style  and  the  appropriate- 
ness of  his  subject  matter,  I  cannot  forbear  somewhat 
extended  quotation.  It  ought,  indeed,  to  be  printed  in  full. 
Premising  that  it  might  be  suitable  to  the  occasion  to 

I   61    ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

dwell  for  awhile  upon  the  history  of  other  literary  clubs, 
"about  which  cluster  such  memories  as  we  would  like  our 
own  to  be,"  he  spoke  first  of  reputed  clubs  of  high  antiq- 
uity, then  turned  to  the  parent  of  all  true  literary  clubs, 
that  which  met  at  the  Mermaid  Tavern  in  the  days  of 
good  Queen  Bess,  a  "goodlie  companie"  in  which  he  said, 
"the  idea  of  an  association  of  authors  and  men  of  literary 
taste,  of  lovers  of  books  and  of  good  fellowship  was  per- 
fected and  left  as  an  example  for  those  who  came  after." 

Then  with  a  passing  reference  to  the  famous  Kit  Kat 
Club  where  Addison  and  Dick  Steele  and  Congreve,  and 
George  the  First's  witty  physician  Sir  Samuel  Garth  were 
wont  to  disport  themselves;  and  telling  an  entertaining 
anecdote  about  the  Beef  Steak  Club  of  the  Georgian 
era,  he  proceeded  to  give  a  more  extended  account  of  the 
most  celebrated  of  all  literary  clubs,  the  one  founded  in 
1764  by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  the  original  title  of  which 
we  have  adopted  with  only  the  addition  of  the  word 
"Chicago." 

"First  known" — I  now  quote  Mr.  Mason's  words — 
"simply  as  'The  Club'  or  'The  Turk's  Head  Club,'  from 
the  tavern  in  which  it  had  its  Monday  evening  meetings; 
at  David  Garrick's  funeral  it  took  the  name  of  'The 
Literary  Club.'  Goldsmith  had  not  published  his  more 
important  works  when  he  was  admitted  as  the  friend  of 
Johnson.  He  came  unwillingly  and  felt  that  he  had  sacri- 
ficed something  for  the  sake  of  good  company,  because, 
he  said,  it  shut  him  out  of  several  places  where  he  used 
to  play  the  fool  very  agreeably.  This  diversion,  however, 
was  still  afforded  him,  as  he  soon  came  to  entertain  and 
astonish  the  Literary  Club  with  his  favorite  song  about 

[  62  ] 


Mason's  Inaugural  Address 


an  old  woman  tossed  in  a  blanket  seventeen  times  higher 
than  the  moon.  It  was  of  this  club  that  Garrick  briskly 
said,  'I  like  it  much,  I  think  I  shall  be  of  you,'  and  John- 
son growled  in  reply,  'He'll  be  of  us!  How  does  he  know 
we  will /)t'rw/7  him?'  and  it  was  long  before  he  would  let 
his  little  David  in.  Here  too  the  old  lexicographer  coined 
those  useful  words  *clubable'  and  'unclubable,'  and  de- 
fined a  club  to  be 'an  assembly  of  good  fellows  meeting 
under  certain  conditions.'  The  members  were  proficient 
in  the  noble  art  of  blackballing,  which  is  another  proof 
o{  0U7'  kinship  with  it.  At  one  session  Lord  Chancellor 
Camden  and  the  Bishop  of  Chester  were  both  excluded. 
The  Bishop  of  St.  x'\saph,  who  at  the  same  time  safely  ran 
the  gauntlet,  might  well  say  that  'the  honor  of  being 
elected  to  this  club  is  not  inferior  to  that  of  being  the 
representative  of  Westminster  or  Surrey.'  The  unlucky 
Goldsmith  suggested  an  increase  of  their  number  be- 
cause they  had  travelled  over  each  others'  minds,  and 
was  promptly  silenced  by  Johnson's  'Sir!  You  have  not 
travelled  over  my  mind!  I  promise  you!'  How  worthily 
the  list  was  afterward  filled,  witness  such  members  as 
Sir  William  Jones,  Adam  Smith,  Sheridan,  Canning,  Hal- 
lam,  and  Macaulay.  And  when,  in  1864,  its  centennial  was 
celebrated,  Dean  Milman  in  the  chair,  there  gathered  to 
do  it  honor,  those  who  bore  the  noblest  and  best  names 
in  England." 

After  quoting  Macaulay's  immortal  description  of  the 
club.  Mason  went  on  to  say :  "It  was  fitting  that  Johnson 
should  be  in  the  front  of  this  picture,  for  in  that  assem- 
blage he  overshadowed  all  the  rest.  And  he  is  today  the 
central  figure  in  literary  club  life.  Fitting  too  was  it,  that 

[  63  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

at  the  hundredth  anniversary  of  this  famous  association, 
its  ancient  name  should  be  exchanged  for  that  of  Johnson, 
by  which  it  is  still  known.  In  its  long  history  we  may  find 
much  to  admire  and  to  imitate.  In  some  matters  we  have 
already  followed  its  example,  in  its  exclusiveness,  in  its 
Monday  evening  meetings,  in  its  first  designation.  And 
perhaps  the  time  may  come  when  it  shall  seem  good 
to  make  it  once  more  our  exemplar — and  change  our 
name." 

The  pertinency  of  much  that  Mason  said  in  this  sketch 
of  the  club  of  which  Samuel  Johnson  was  the  most  salient 
personality  was  due  in  part  to  the  general  recognition  by 
his  hearers  of  the  difficulty  of  gaining  admission  to  our 
club.  The  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph's  exclamation  might  well 
have  been  paraphrased  by  many  of  our  members,  so 
highly  was  the  honor  of  being  elected  to  it  then  regarded. 
And  Dr.  Johnson's  comment  upon  Garrick's  utterance 
brought  to  mind  an  incident  that  was  still  fresh  in  the 
memory  of  most  of  Mason's  audience.  Not  long  before,  a 
gentleman  who  was  well  and  favorably  known  to  many 
of  our  members,  though  his  name  had  not  been  presented 
as  a  candidate  for  admission,  incautiously  let  it  be  known 
that  he  "intended  to  join  The  Chicago  Literary  Club."  It 
is  perhaps  needless  to  add  that  he  didn't.  Indeed,  it  may 
be  doubted  whether  there  was  any  man  living  so  distin- 
guished that  he  would  have  had  any  chance  of  being 
admitted  had  he  made  such  a  statement  before  he  had 
been  invited  to  join.  And  it  was  an  unwritten  rule  that 
no  one  who  declined  to  become  a  member  after  having 
been  elected,  should  ever  be  given  another  opportunity. 

During  the  season  that  came  to  an  end  with  the  annual 

[   64  ] 


Concerning  Early  Members 

dinner  when  Mr.  Mason  was  inaugurated,  only  nine  can- 
didates successfully  passed  the  ordeal  of  the  ballot  box. 
All  of  the  nine  became  valued  members  of  the  club.  Who 
among  those  that  knew  them  can  forget  the  dynamic  per- 
sonality of  General  William  E.  Strong;  or  the  magnetic 
charm  of  the  gifted  but  constitutionally  weak  and  irre- 
sponsible yet  altogether  lovable  Tom  Grover;  or  the  bril- 
liant attainments  and  eminent  clubableness  of  Melville 
Weston  Fuller — Mel.  Fuller  he  was  to  us  before  he  became 
the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court? 
Who  does  not  recall  the  solid  worth  of  Charles  Hitch- 
cock and  Edwin  Holmes  Sheldon,  of  Selim  H.  Peabody 
and  Ephraim  Allen  Otis;  the  genial  bearing  of  Lawrence 
Earle,  of  William  G.  McMillan  as  he  was  during  the 
first  years  of  his  membership,  and  of  Colonel  Augustus 
Jacobson? 

During  the  next  year,  that  of  Mr.  Mason's  administra- 
tion, sixteen  were  admitted.  Some  of  them  never  became 
closely  identified  with  the  club,  but  among  those  who  did 
there  were  several  whose  names  evoke  precious  memories. 
W'illiam  Kelly  Ackerman  and  W^illiam  LeBaron  Jenney, 
both  active  members  for  many  years,  made  the  mis- 
take of  resigning  when  untoward  circumstances  prevented 
them  from  coming  to  the  meetings  so  frequently  as  had 
been  their  habit;  but  Albert  A.  Sprague  and  Eliphalet 
W.  Blatchford,  though  they  seldom  found  it  possible  to 
attend,  never  fiagged  in  their  devotion  so  long  as  they 
lived.  Equally  faithful  were  Azel  F.  Hatch  and  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Galusha  Anderson,  both  familiar  and  welcome  figures 
at  our  Monday  evening  gatherings.  So  also,  were  Fred- 
erick Wilcox  Clarke  and   the  Rev.  Arthur  Little,  and 

[   65   j 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

sorry  we  were  when  they  were  called  away  to  the  East. 
Neither  one  of  them  ever  forgot  the  pleasant  companion- 
ship they  found  at  our  meetings.  Often  have  I  heard  them, 
and  other  non-resident  members  as  well,  say  this  was  the 
thing  they  most  regretted  and  most  deeply  missed  in 
leaving  our  city.  Without  doubt  it  is  this  feeling  that  has 
kept  so  many  of  our  members  loyal  throughout  the 
passing  years. 

The  season  of  1 878-1 879  was  not  an  eventful  one.  It 
was  chiefly  notable  for  the  excellence  of  the  papers  read  at 
the  meetings,  and  for  the  steady  growth  of  the  club  feel- 
ing and  of  the  spirit  of  fellowship  among  the  members. 
Toward  the  end  of  the  year  we  were  greatly  grieved  by 
the  death  of  William  Macdonell  which  we  all  felt  was  a 
great  loss  to  the  club.  The  annual  dinner  was  to  have 
been  held  on  the  fourth  Monday  in  June,  but,  as  Dr. 
William  Frederick  Poole,  the  president-elect,  had,  before 
he  was  nominated  for  the  office,  engaged  to  deliver  an 
address  in  Boston  on  that  date,  his  inaugural  was  post- 
poned until  the  first  meeting  in  the  autumn.  The  advan- 
tages of  having  it  at  the  beginning  instead  of  at  the  end 
of  the  season  were  so  obvious  that  once  the  change  was 
made  it  established  a  precedent  from  which  we  have  not 
since  departed. 

Dr.  Poole  had  often  urged  that  it  is  a  great  mistake  to 
read  an  address,  since  one  can  keep  in  touch  with  his  audi- 
ence much  better  if  he  merely  talks  without  manuscript  or 
notes.  His  inaugural,  when  he  was  to  speak  of  the  club 
itself  to  the  members  who  formed  a  group  of  his  closest 
friends,  seemed  a  fitting  time  to  put  his  views  to  a  prac- 
tical test.  But,  knowing  the  difficulty  of  pleasing  such 

[  66  ] 


Dr.  Poolf/s  Inaugural 


a  critical  audience  unless  every  word  were  carefully 
weighed,  every  phrase  neatly  turned,  and  his  thoughts 
arranged  in  orderly  sequence,  he  wrote  his  address  and 
committed  it  to  memory.  When  the  dinner  was  over  and 
he  rose  to  deliver  his  message  he  felt  well  prepared.  But  he 
had  progressed  only  a  little  way  when  his  mind  suddenly 
became  a  blank,  and,  after  vainly  trying  during  a  few  very 
protracted  and  painful  minutes  to  remember  anything  he 
intended  saying,  he  had  to  sit  down.  Fortunately  he  had 
brought  his  manuscript  with  him,  so  the  interruption  was 
not  of  long  duration;  but  it  greatly  amused  his  fellow 
members  that  this  experience  should  come  to  such  an 
old  campaigner  as  Dr.  Poole. 

In  March,  1880,  we  were  deeply  grieved  by  the  death 
of  a  member  who  had  won  the  affection  of  every  one  who 
knew  him.  Among  all  of  the  young  men  who  had  come 
to  Chicago  to  make  their  homes  in  the  city,  few  if  any, 
had  attracted  more  favorable  attention  in  a  few  years 
than  had  Cecil  Barnes.  This  was  not  because  of  promi- 
nence in  business,  for  he  was  not  what  is  ordinarily  known 
as  a  business  man.  After  a  brilliant  record  in  college  he 
came  here  and  established  a  select  school  for  boys  at 
Chicago  Avenue  and  North  State  Street.  He  was  a  born 
teacher  and  the  community  as  well  as  the  club  suffered  a 
great  loss  when  he  was  stricken  down.  His  manly  bearing 
and  the  inflexible  strength  of  his  character,  combined  with 
his  unusually  winning  personality,  highly  cultivated 
mind,  and  sensitive  appreciation  of  all  that  is  finest  and 
best  in  literature,  art,  and  every  form  of  human  endeavor, 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  all  who  came  in  contact 
with  him. 

1   67   1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

Perhaps  the  most  memorable  event  during  the  year 
of  Dr.  Poole's  administration  was  the  ladies'  night  on 
March  30,  1880,  when  Edward  Mason  waived  his  objec- 
tion to  the  feminine  invasion  of  the  sacred  precincts  of 
the  club  rooms  and  read  his  now  widely-known  historical 
paper  on  "Old  Fort  Chartres."  The  rooms  were  specially 
dressed  up  for  the  occasion  and  upon  the  walls  a  loan 
collection  of  paintings  and  engravings  by  distinguished 
artists  was  hung.  This  meeting  and  the  four  succeed- 
ing ones  were  held  upon  Tuesday  evenings.  The  change 
was  made  because  of  the  great  annoyance  caused  by  the 
marching  and  countermarching  of  the  members  of  St. 
Bernard  Commandery  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  whose  drill  hall  was 
on  the  floor  above  us,  directly  over  our  rooms.  Earlier  in 
our  tenancy  we  had  not  been  troubled,  probably  because 
the  drilling  was  not  done  on  Monday  evenings.  But  now 
the  drill  corps  was  making  a  great  effort  to  be  so  well 
trained  that  it  might  capture  the  first  prize  in  a  forth- 
coming contest  with  other  commanderies.  Except  for  the 
ladies'  night  when  seventy-five  members  and  as  many 
guests  were  present,  the  change  to  Tuesday  evenings  for 
our  meetings  did  not  prove  a  happy  one.  The  attendance 
dropped  to  less  than  a  third  of  the  usual  number  despite 
the  fact  that  the  essayists  were  popular  favorites.  It  was 
decided  therefore  to  change  back  to  Monday  evenings.  As 
our  lease  had  already  been  renewed  for  another  year  it 
was  necessary  to  put  up  with  the  infliction  during  the  next 
season,  but  to  bear  with  it  longer  than  that  was  quite  out 
of  the  question.  Accordingly,  when  the  annual  election 
had  been  held,  the  new  committee  on  rooms  and  finance, 
of  which  Bryan  Lathrop  was  made  the  chairman,  was 

[  68  ] 


Brooke  Herford's  Inaugural 

charged  with  the  duty  of  finding  more  suitable  quarters 
for  our  occupancy  a  year  later.  At  this  election  the  Rev. 
Brooke  Herford  was  chosen  to  he  the  president,  and  the 
writer  of  this  chronicle  was  constituted  the  recording 
secretary  and  treasurer. 

The  opening  paragraphs  of  Mr.  Herford's  discourse 
will  serve  in  a  way  to  put  before  the  present-day  members 
one  of  the  brightest  and  most  entertaining  men  among  all 
the  "goodlie  companie"  of  those  whose  names  fill  our  rolls. 
Dr.  Hyde's  afl^ectionate  tribute  to  him  as  "that  prince  of 
all  club-presidents,  our  well-beloved  Brooke  Herford," 
was  well  deserved. 

"Gentlemen  of  the  Literary  Club,"  he  said,  "I  welcome 
you  back  tonight  to  these  classic  halls,  to  our  literary 
pleasures,  and  to  our  simple  repasts.  I  am  proud  that  it 
falls  to  me  to  give  you  this  welcome.  We  gather  here  for 
many  pleasant  hours  when  wit  shall  season  wisdom.  And 
why  not?  The  pilgrims  to  Canterbury  beguiled  the  way 
with  jests  and  tales.  The  pilgrims  to  Jerusalem  are  said 
to  have 'boiled  theirpeas.' And  pilgrims  to  New  England, 
with  a  subtle  historical  parallelism,  'baked  their  beans'; 
yet  they  never  lost  sight  of  life's  serious  end ;  and  so  I  take 
it  there  is  always  an  earnest  purpose  at  the  heart  even  of 
our  lightest  moods." 

His  second  paragraph  gives  a  picture  of  the  Chicago 
of  forty-four  years  ago  as  it  appeared  to  a  cultured  En- 
glishman. 

"There  is  something  peculiarly  interesting  in  the  work 
of  a  literary  club  in  a  busy  city  like  this.  Leisure  may 
almost  be  said  to  be  one  of  the  'lost  arts'  in  America.  If 
it  is  ever  to  be  recovered,  it  will  not  be  by  scolding  at  men's 

1 69 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

absorption  in  business  but  by  interesting  them  in  some- 
thing higher.  Everything  which  disciplines  the  intellect, 
everything  which  quickens  the  imagination,  everything 
which  deepens  and  widens  men's  interest  in  this  great 
world,  is  helping  to  mould  into  nobler  caliber  the  ^coming 
race'  of  the  West.  At  present  this  life  is  raw  and  bare. 
Newspapers  diffuse  a  certain  conventional  readiness,  but 
with  little  actual  culture.  Said  a  friend  to  one  of  our  Chi- 
cago belles,  just  returned  from  Rome  and  talking  glibly 
about  Italian  art,  'Did  you  see  anything  of  the  old  mas- 
ters?' 'O  yes,'  was  the  reply,  'and  I  took  lessons  from  one 
of  them!' " 

This  anecdote  is  not  exactly  new  today,  but  it  was  then. 
From  the  earliest  days  of  the  club  it  was  an  unwritten  law 
that  whatever  degree  of  sobriety  should  mark  the  papers 
read  at  ordinary  meetings,  the  annual  and  other  dinners 
should  largely  be  given  over  to  fun.  The  memorable 
dinner,  only  four  days  later  than  the  annual  reunion  when 
Mr.  Herford  was  inaugurated,  was  no  exception,  though, 
as  the  occasion  demanded,  the  addresses  were  not  all 
facetious.  In  the  autumn  of  1880,  Thomas  Hughes, 
who  was  deeply  interested  in  an  English  settlement  at 
Rugby,  Tennessee,  was  making  his  second  visit  to  the 
United  States.  Learning  that  he  would  be  in  Chicago  for  a 
few  days,  the  club  invited  him  to  dine  with  its  members  at 
the  Grand  Pacific  Hotel  on  the  evening  of  Monday,  Octo- 
ber 8,  and  the  invitation  was  accepted.  The  dinner  was  one 
of  the  notable  events  in  the  club's  history.  Seventy-seven 
members  gathered  to  do  honor  to  the  distinguished  author. 
President  Herford  made  a  short  opening  speech  and  was 
followed  by  Edward  Mason — but  let  me  quote  the  ac- 


Dinner  to  Thomas  Hughes 

count  of  his  speech  given  by  Dr.  Hytle  in  a  paper  he  read 
when  we  celebrated  our  twenty-fifth  anniversary  in  1899. 

"I  thought  of  one  of  our  famous  dinners  year  before 
last  when  I  stood  in  the  quaint  old  church  in  Chester, 
before  the  modest  brass  that  commemorates  the  virtues  of 
Thomas  Hughes.  As  I  read  the  inscription  my  thoughts 
reverted  to  the  dinner  we  gave  him  when  he  was  in  our 
city,  and  to  Brooke  Herford  who  presided  on  that  occa- 
sion with  so  much  grace  and  dignity,  and  to  Ned  Mason 
who  made  the  address  of  welcome  with  his  usual  happy 
effect.  As  the  names  of  the  boys  who  figure  in  'Tom 
Brown  at  Rugby'  rolled  from  his  tongue  with  surprising 
glibness,  one  would  have  thought  he  had  been  playing 
football  with  them  during  the  week  preceding,  but  many 
of  us  believe  he  had  been  sitting  up  half  the  night  before 
and  cramming  on  them.  In  fact  their  recital  quite  took 
away  Mr.  Hughes'  breath.  'Gentlemen,'  he  said  when  he 
arose,  his  fresh  English  face  beaming  with  pleasure,  while 
his  hand  played  incessantly  with  the  napkin  on  the  table 
before  him,  as  if  from  it  he  would  gather  the  strength  to 
overbear  his  modesty,  'Gentlemen,  I  confess  to  you  that 
I  had  quite  forgotten  the  names  that  have  been  recalled 
to  me  in  the  language  of  the  gentleman  who  has  just  wel- 
comed me  to  your  hospitality.'  " 

At  the  October  business  meeting  Mr.  Lathrop  reported 
that  arrangements  had  been  made  to  lease  rooms  for  the 
club  on  the  fourth  floor  of  Portland  Block,  southeast  cor- 
ner of  Dearborn  and  Washington  streets,  for  a  term  of  five 
years  from  May  1,1881,  and  that  with  the  consent  of  the 
owners  of  the  building,  the  rooms  would  be  connected  by 
dumb  waiter  with  Kinsley's  restaurant  in  the  building 

[  71  1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

adjoining  at  the  east.  A  more  favorable  location  could  not 
have  been  selected.  As  the  new  quarters  involved  the  pay- 
ment of  a  two  thousand  dollars  rental,  orjust  about  double 
the  cost  of  occupying  the  rooms  in  the  American  Express 
Company  building,  a  sixty  per  cent  increase  in  the  dues 
became  necessary  and  they  were  accordingly  raised  from 
fifteen  dollars  a  year  to  twenty-four.  But  even  after 
the  advance  was  made  they  cannot  be  said  to  have  been 
high. 

As  Dr.  Hyde  pointed  out  in  the  paper  from  which  sev- 
eral quotations  have  already  been  made,  "Up  to  the  time 
when  Mr.  Herford  became  our  president  it  had  been  a  sort 
of  fad  for  members  to  write,  not  of  what  they  knew  most, 
but  rather  of  some  surprising  bit  of  work  which  they  had 
done  in  a  quiet  way  outside  of  their  daily  vocations.The 
ideal  of  those  days,  I  am  quite  sure,  was  the  dropping  of 
^shop'  when  inside  of  the  club  walls.  Thus  a  judge  of  one 
of  our  courts  wrote  upon  'The  Resurrection';  a  clergy- 
man who  had  never  known  much  of  bodily  suffering  wrote 
about  'Physical  Pain';  a  nineteenth-century  lawyer 
wrote  about  'American  Antiquities,'  and  only  Edward 
Waters,  who  had  impulses  in  that  direction,  wrote  on  'The 
Pottery  of  the  Renaissance,'  thereby  securing  for  himself 
the  soubriquet  of  'Dish-Waters.'  Brooke  Herford,  how- 
ever, gave  the  club  a  turn  in  quite  another  direction  when 
he  asked  every  man  to  write  on  the  work  in  which  he  was 
most  busily  engaged.  From  that  time  on,  members  have 
felt  free  to  write  on  the  subjects  that  chiefly  interested 
them." 

Apropos  of  this,  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  good 
doctor,  though  he  took  Mr.  Herford's  prescription  once, 

[  11  ] 


Notable  Papers 


and  brought  forth  a  paper  on  "National  Traits  in  Medi- 
cine," always  thereafter  carefully  avoided  another  dose. 
That  the  club  was  a  gainer  can  hardly  be  doubted,  since 
instead  of  the  brilliant  historical  essays,  distinguished 
by  imaginative  insight,  felicitous  phrasing,  and  effective 
presentation  of  facts,  with  which  he  so  often  delighted 
us,  it  is  conceivable  that  we  might  have  been  beguiled 
into  listening  to  a  paper — ^I  am  tempted  to  say  a  super- 
ficial paper  but,  having  regard  for  the  doctor's  deservedly 
high  professional  reputation,  I  refrain — appropriately 
entitled  "Hyde  on  the  Skin." 

As  a  veracious  historian  I  must  chronicle  that  despite 
Mr.  Herford's  urging  there  was  little  shop-talk  during  his 
administration.  There  was,  however,  an  abundant  literary 
feast.  Conspicuous  among  the  papers  read  during  the  year 
was  one  by  Henry  T,  Steele  entitled  "The  Deformed 
Spelling,"  a  witty  and  telling  assault  upon  the  departures 
from  orthodox  English  orthography  that  had  then  begun 
to  appear  and  obtain  currency,  which  kept  us  laughing 
and  applauding  from  the  opening  sentence  until  the  very 
end.  Had  we  then  established  the  custom  of  printing  club 
papers  it  is  highly  probable  that  this  would  have  been 
one  of  those  selected. 

Other  papers  of  this  year  that  attracted  much  atten- 
tion at  the  time  they  were  read,  were  Judge  Charles  B. 
Lawrence's  essay  on  "Gouverneur  Morris,"  and  Alfred 
Bishop  Mason's  "A  Man  and  his  Money;  a  Moral  Novel- 
ette." Encouraged  by  its  reception  in  the  club.  Mason 
offered  his  paper  to  "the  squeamish  Atlantic  Monthly" 
as  Major  Huntingdon  called  it.  Mr.  Howells  who  was  then 
the  editor  declined  it  with  thanks.  Happening  to  meet  him 

[  73  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

not  long  after,  Huntington  asked  how  he  happened  to 
refuse  such  a  moral  production.  "It  was  too  moral,"  was 
the  response. 

As  the  spring  of  1881  drew  near  the  preparations  for 
the  May  moving  kept  Mr.  Lathrop  and  his  associates  on 
the  rooms  and  finance  committee  very  busy.  To  have  the 
new  quarters  ready  for  occupancy  with  as  little  delay  as 
possible  after  taking  possession  required  careful  planning. 
Because  of  the  large  size  of  two  of  the  rooms  carpets  for 
them  had  to  be  woven  to  order  and  ordered  a  long  while 
in  advance  to  get  the  color  we  wanted.  Draperies  for  the 
windows  and  some  doorways  also  had  to  be  in  readiness 
to  put  up  when  we  moved  in.  For  the  reading  room  a  large 
round  table  was  specially  designed  and  built.  It  had  a 
circumvallation  of  triangular  box-like  receptacles  just 
beneath  the  top,  to  store  back  numbers  of  periodicals. 
This  table  was  a  prominent  feature  in  our  rooms  until 
the  year  1904.  When  the  first  of  May  came  around  it  was 
necessary  to  omit  one  meeting,  but  by  the  end  of  another 
week  the  walls  of  the  Portland  Block  rooms  had  been 
tastefully  papered,  the  carpets  had  been  laid,  the  draper- 
ies hung,  and  the  furniture  put  in  place,  and  on  the  eve- 
ning of  Monday,  May  9,  fifty-three  members  gathered  to 
survey  our  new  home  and  to  listen  to  a  paper  on  "Army 
Experiences"  by  General  Martin  D  Hardin. 

In  these  very  pleasant,  centrally  located  and  com- 
modious rooms  the  club  remained  for  five  years,  until  the 
expiration  of  its  lease,  and  it  vacated  them  with  regret,  but 
was  obliged  to  leave  as  the  building  had  been  sold  and 
the  new  owner  was  waiting  for  us  to  "move  out  so  that 
he  might  remodel  the  story  we  occupied  and  add  two 

[  74  ] 


The  Rooms  in  Portland  Block 

more  above  it.  The  assembly  room  was  at  the  east  side 
and  extended  through  it  from  north  to  south.  It  was 
lighted  by  a  skylight  and  by  two  windows  at  the  north 
end.  The  platform  was  placed  at  the  north  end.  Adjoining 
this  room  to  the  west  on  the  Washington  Street  side  was  an 
ample  coat  room.  Beyond  that  was  a  large  supper  room, 
with  storage  closets  and  a  pantry.  Further  along  in  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  building  was  the  large  reading 
room.  This  extended  about  half  way  down  the  Dearborn 
Street  front.  Except  for  three  small  offices  in  the  south- 
west corner,  we  occupied  the  entire  floor,  including  the 
corridor  along  the  central  light  shaft. 


[  75  1 


Chapter  VI 

THE  influence  of  agreeable  surroundings  is  not 
negligible.  To  say  that  the  club  took  on  new  life 
when  it  moved  into  the  rooms  in  Portland  Block 
would  imply  too  much;  but  certain  it  is  that  it  steadily 
grew  stronger  and  became  more  firmly  intrenched  in  its 
hold  upon  its  members  as  long  as  it  remained  in  those 
quarters. 

Perusal  of  the  records  of  the  five  years  calls  up  mem- 
ories of  many  brilliant  papers,  so  many  indeed  that  it 
would  be  difficult  to  pass  over  them  without  particular 
mention  did  I  not  realize  the  impossibility  of  putting 
these  memories  into  concrete  form.  A  few  events,  how- 
ever, stand  out  so  clearly  as  to  be  worth  recounting. 

For  the  season  of  1 881-1882  Edwin  Channing  Earned 
was  chosen  to  be  our  president.  He  was  a  man  whom  we  all 
looked  up  to  and  loved  and  revered.  No  other  citizen  was 
held  in  greater  esteem  in  the  community.  In  all  that  goes 
to  make  a  man  he  measured  up  to  the  highest  standard, 
and  when  in  September,  1884,  he  left  us  forever  it  was 
truly  said  of  him  that  his  life  had  been  a  benediction. 
George  Howland  was  our  next  president  in  1882-1883. 
He  also  had  a  deep  hold  upon  our  affections  and  upon 
our  admiration  and  respect.  His  unfailing  good  nature, 
scholarly  attainments,  and  unassuming  manner  endeared 
him  to  us  all.  So  clubable  was  he,  and  so  much  was  he  a 
part  of  the  club  during  its  first  eighteen  years  that  it  is 
impossible  to  think  of  it  as  it  was  then  without  bringing 

[  76  ] 


Dinner  to  SEYiMouR  Haden 


him  well  in  the  foreground  of  the  mental  picture.  He 
signaled  his  term  of  office  by  attending  every  meeting 
during  the  year.  No  previous  incumbent  of  the  presidency 
had  achieved  this  distinction; but  he  set  an  example  that 
most  of  his  successors  have  endeavored  to  emulate. 

One  of  the  notable  events  of  Mr.  Rowland's  adminis- 
tration was  a  dinner  and  reception  to  Francis  Seymour 
Haden,  on  December  9,  1882.  I  remember  that  Mr. 
Howland  made  a  very  gracious  and  effective  address  of 
welcome  to  which  Mr.  Haden  responded  most  happily. 
Other  speeches  followed.  Dr.  Hyde  who  was  one  of  the 
speakers  has  set  down  his  recollections  of  these.  "Some  of 
us  who  were  of  Mr.  Haden's  profession  were  asked  to  say 
a  few  words.  Naturally  Dr.  Charlie  Smith  was  among  the 
number.  We  felt  a  trifle  of  reserve  in  the  presence  of 
the  eminent  etcher.  But  Smith  was  equal  to  the  occasion. 
He  described  in  an  airy  way  the  progress  and  develop- 
ment of  the  artistic  ideal  in  the  home  of  the  Western  man 
from  the  period  of  the  chromo  first  seen  in  the  parlor,  to 
that  of  its  gradual  progression  to  the  bedroom  floor  and 
finally  to  the  attic.  It  was  brightly  and  cleverly  done  and 
Mr.  Haden  laughed  heartily  at  the  doctor's  hits." 

Mr.  Rowland's  successor  was  Major  Henry  Alonzo 
Huntington  who  was  our  president  in  1 883-1 884.  To  pic- 
ture Harry  Huntington  to  those  who  have  not  had  the 
pleasure  of  knowing  him  would  be  an  impossible  task. 
Among  all  of  our  members  he  alone  at  that  time  was  a 
gentleman  of  means  and  leisure.  In  the  Civil  War  he  had 
distinguished  himself  by  his  bravery  and  his  soldierly 
qualities.  When  the  war  was  over  he  remained  for  some 
years  in  the  army.  Then  he  resigned  his  commission  and 

[  77 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

turned  to  literary  occupations,  but,  having  a  fortune  suffi- 
cient for  his  needs,  which  were  not  extravagant,  he  lacked 
incentive  to  sustained  effort  and  became  a  typical  dilet- 
tante. No  man  ever  had  keener  enjoyment  of  neatly  turned 
phrases,  and  he  was  fond  of  juggling  with  words  when  he 
felt  disposed  to  make  the  effort.  His  strong  sense  of  humor 
and  flashing  wit  made  him  a  most  agreeable  companion, 
though  his  inability  to  resist  an  opportunity  to  say  a  good 
thing,  let  it  hit  wherever  it  might,  sometimes  alienated 
those  who  failed  to  perceive  that  his  witticisms  were  all 
pure  fun  and  quite  free  from  any  trace  of  malice.  It  must 
be  said  that  they  did  occasionally  hurt.  But,  be  it  said,  he 
never  minded  a  joke  at  his  own  expense  and  could  enjoy 
it  quite  as  heartily  as  if  another  were  the  victim.  His 
greatestweakness  was  his  pride  in  his  own  bons  mots  which 
he  relished  so  greatly  that  he  could  not  resist  retelling 
them  afterward.  It  is  easy  to  forgive  him,  however,  for 
many  of  them  were  clever  enough  to  be  worth  repeating. 
And  we  were  proud  of  him  as  a  member  and  fond  of  him 
as  a  friend.  A  few  phrases  extracted  from  his  inaugural 
address  will  perhaps  serve  to  introduce  him.  Note  care- 
fully the  sequence  of  ideas  in  the  opening  paragraphs. 
This  was  the  way  he  began. 

"At  the  last  meeting  of  the  club,  when  I  arose  to  make 
a  few  remarks  complimentary  to  my  predecessor — and  to 
myself — I  said,  'This  is  the  supreme  moment  of  my  life.' 
It  was  a  mistake.  This  is  the  supreme  moment. 

"Nine  years'  service  in  the  army  left  me  thirty  years 
from  a  full  majority.  Nine  years  ago  I  enlisted  in  this  club 
and  tonight  I  am  the  commander-in-chief.  Four  essays 
and  a  dozen  lesser  contributions  have  done  more  for  me 

[  78  ] 


Huntington's  Inaugural 


than  as  many  pitched  battles  and  skirmishes.  'Beneath 
the  rule  of  men  entirely  great,  the  pen  is  mightier  than 
the  sword.' 

"The  first  essay  to  which,  in  the  autumn  oi  i^74, 
I  listened  as  a  member  of  this  club,  I  afterward  had  the 
pleasure  to  read  in  a.  magazine  of  earlier  date,  tor  I  am 
ever  behind  with  the  periodicals  and  always  lisp  in  back 
numbers.  It  was  signed,  I  regret  to  say,  with  a  name  other 
than  that  of  the  member  whose  gracekil  periods  had  been 
my  envy  and  despair.  From  that  time  until  the  present 
there  has  been  no  more  constant  attendant  upon  our  meet- 
ings than  myself." 

Despite  the  implication  of  the  last  sentence,  it  may 
safely  be  said  that  the  post  hoc  ergo  propter  hoc  sugges- 
tion does  not  really  explain  the  frequency  of  his  attend- 
ance. But  Huntington  was  not  always  flippant,  and  these 
words  which  occur  further  along  in  his  address  are  well 
worthy  of  our  attention: 

"Hitherto  it  has  been  the  custom  for  incoming  presi- 
dents to  prophesy  a  golden  future  for  the  club;  briefly  to 
describe  its  ideal  library,  to  gaze  in  imagination  upon 
its  admirable  collection  of  pictures  and  statuary,  and  to 
dream  of  the  stately  building  which  should  contain  all  this 
magnificence.  The  oracles  have  deceived  us.  Ten  years 
have  brought  none  of  these  splendors.  Be  mine  the  task 
to  point  out  some  of  the  advantages  we  already  enjoy." 

These  he  proceeded  to  set  forth.  His  descriptions, 
though  diverting  are  too  long  to  quote;  but  not  the  sum- 
ming up:  "For  my  part  I  am  content  with  what  we  have. 
The  vision  of  a  tall  club-house  where  a  thousand  members 
shall  grow  indifl^erent  to  each  other  has  no  charms  tor 

[  79  1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

me.  Better  the  half  Bohemian  hfe  we  have  thus  far  led 
together,  with  its  merry  unconsciousness  of  Newton's  law, 
with  its  friendly  emulation,  its  gentle  companionships." 

And  what  could  be  more  beautiful  than  the  tribute, 
which  in  his  closing  words  he  paid  to  the  memory  of  Judge 
Lawrence,  whose  death  a  few  months  earlier  had  brought 
grief  to  our  hearts.  "We  begin,"  he  said,  "to  have  our 
memories  too.  Of  my  nine  predecessors  two  have  carried 
the  banner  of  the  club  into  Eastern  lands."  These  were 
Mr.  CoUyer  who  had  moved  to  New  York  several  years 
before,  and  Mr.  Herford  whose  departure  from  Chicago  in 
June,  1882,  caused  such  keen  regret  to  his  many  friends 
and  admirers  in  the  club  that  it  found  expression  in  a 
resolution  spread  upon  the  records  of  the  meeting  at  which 
they  bade  him  good  bye.  "And,"  Huntington  went  on  to 
say,  "one  has  left  us  forever.  Sweet  to  us  all  is  the  recol- 
lection of  perhaps  the  only  man  we  knew  whose  dignity 
was  of  that  sort,  serene  and  rare,  which  needed  no  asser- 
tion because  it  rested  on  a  noble  life." 

The  season  of  1 883-1 884  when  Huntington  was  the 
president,  was  one  of  the  most  enjoyable  we  have  ever 
had.  It  was  marked  by  the  large  attendance  at  the  meet- 
ings, the  excellence  of  the  papers,  and  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  members,  of  whom  there  were  two  hundred  and 
thirty-five  on  the  resident  list  at  the  end  of  the  year. 
It  will  always  be  a  season  memorable  in  the  annals  of 
the  club  because  of  the  dinner  to  Matthew  Arnold  on 
January  19,  1884,  and  the  famous  newspaper  hoax  that 
was  its  sequel.  The  dinner  was  attended  by  eighty-three 
of  our  members,  and  was  a  delightful  affair.  President 
Huntington  made  the  address  of  welcome  to  which  Mr. 

[  80  ] 


The  Matthew  Arnold  Hoax 

Arnold  made  a  gracious  response.  Then  Edward  Mason 
and  Franklin  Mac\'^eagh  followed  with  speeches  in  their 
happiest  style.  The  hoax  which  was  perpetrated  in  April, 
after  Mr.  Arnoltl  had  returned  to  England,  was  conceived 
and  in  large  part  executed  by  one  of  our  members  who  is 
still  on  the  resident  list.  It  was  a  brilliant  performance 
cleverly  designed  to  trip  up  The  Chicago  Tribune,  which, 
for  some  time  previously,  had  been  suspected  by  jour- 
nalists on  the  stafl'of  The  Chicago  Daily  News  of  appro- 
priating without  acknowledgment  special  dispatches 
printed  in  the  earliest  edition  of  The  New  York  Trib- 
une. What  purported  to  be  an  article  contributed  by  Mr. 
Arnold  to  The  Pall  Mall  Gazette  was  concocted  by  our 
member  who  displayed  much  ingenuity  in  imitating  the 
eminent  English  author's  literary  style.  It  is  too  long  to 
be  reprinted  here  in  full,  but  the  following  extracts  have 
such  literary  distinction  as  well  as  pertinency  that  they 
should  not  be  left  out  of  a  history  of  the  club. 

"That  which  most  impressed  me  during  my  stay  in 
Chicago,  as  well  as  in  other  American  cities  of  the  larger 
sort  which  I  visited,  was  a  certain  assumption  of  culture, 
which,  upon  close  observation,  I  found  to  be  very  super- 
ficially varnished  over  a  very  solid  basis  of  Philistinism. 
This  affectation  of  concern  for  the  things  of  the  spirit, 
which  may  very  easily  be  seen  to  be  nothing  more  than 
an  affectation,  is  chiefly  observed  in  its  aesthetic  aspect. 
Of  ethical  culture  there  is  hardly  any  pretense.  From 
sheer  stress  of  habit  the  members  of  the  clergy  dispense 
from  the  pulpit  their  weekly  modicum  of  diluted  morali- 
ties, and  from  sheer  force  of  fashion  the  more  respectable 
classes  of  the  population  give  apparent  heed  to  what  is 

f   8i    1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

said  to  them.  But  it  would  be  safe  to  say  that  the  con- 
dition of  the  trade  in  tinned  meats,  or  in  pork,  or  in  grain 
has  the  largest  share  of  their  thoughts,  even  during  the 
hour  of  ostensible  devotion.  The  inevitable  curse  of  the 
money-getting  spirit  is  writ  large,  as  it  were,  in  the 
action  of  this  population  of  half  a  million  souls.  It  is  an 
easy  matter  to  know  the  heart  of  such  a  community  as 
this,  when  its  actions  are  so  open  to  the  view  of  all  men. 
"During  my  stay  in  Chicago  I  attended  a  very  pleas- 
ant little  reception  given  by  the  Literary  Club  of  that 
city.  I  call  it  the  Literary  Club  because  that  is  the  name 
by  which  it  is  known,  and  not  in  any  way  to  imply  that 
in  so  large  a  city  as  Chicago  there  is  but  one  society  of 
that  character.  I  should  judge,  indeed,  that  there  must 
be  many  similar  nuclei  of  persons  who  are  sufficiently 
released  from  the  demands  of  the  rushing  business  life  of 
the  city  to  be  thus  drawn  together  by  the  bond  of  culture, 
and  as  far  as  my  recollection  serves  me  the  greater  num- 
ber of  persons  of  literary  pursuits  whom  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  meeting  were  not  included  among  the  members  of  the 
particular  association  of  which  I  am  speaking.  This  eve- 
ning afforded  me  a  curious  illustration  of  that  combina- 
tion in  the  person  of  the  individual  of  business  ability 
and  cultured  tastes  which  I  so  often  had  occasion  to  note 
while  in  the  States.  A  pleasant  little  paper  on  the  subject 
of  'Philistinism'  was  read,  and,  as  the  subject  is  one  in 
which  I  have  taken  some  interest,  I  naturally  gave  it  close 
attention,  for  which  I  felt  fully  repaid.  Wishing  to  learn 
the  profession  of  the  gentleman  who  had  so  intelligently 
handled  the  subject,  I  made  inquiry  of  a  friend,  who 
informed  me  that  the  essayist  was  the  owner  of  a  large 

[    82    ] 


The  Matthew  Arnold  Hoax 

grocery  business.  I  learned  also,  upon  making  further 
inquiry,  that  besides  members  of  the  clergy  and  of  the 
legal  profession,  whom  I  should  naturally  expect  to  find 
in  such  a  society  as  this,  there  was  a  very  large  element 
consisting  of  successful  tradesmen,  such  as  mercers,  iron- 
mongers, and  packers,  which  latter  term  is  applied  to 
dealers  in  the  class  of  food  products  derived  from  the  hog. 
"I  was  especially  interested  at  Chicago,  as  I  was 
throughout  my  stay  in  America,  in  observing  the  various 
religious  bodies  and  in  trying  to  get  some  insight  into 
their  spiritual  life.  .  .  .  I  attended  one  Sunday  morning 
the  chapel  in  which  services  are  conducted  by  one  of  the 
most  popular  of  the  dissenting  ministers  of  Chicago." 
This  minister, it  maybe  remarked  in  passing, was  David 
Swing,  who  had  entertained  Mr.  Arnold  at  a  dinner  party 
when  he  was  in  Chicago.  "The  chapel  was  really  nothing 
else  than  the  large  hall  in  which  most  of  the  more  impor- 
tant concerts  and  lectures  are  given,  and  in  which  I  had 
myself  lectured  but  a  few  nights  before.  The  audience  in 
attendance  upon  this  service  seemed  to  be  made  up  of  a 
well-to-do  and  intelligent  class  of  people,  and  I  afterward 
learned  that  regular  attendance  here  stands  in  Chicago  as 
a  sign  of  cultured  taste.  So  when  afterward  I  tried  to  put 
my  recollections  together  in  some  sort  ol  order,  I  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  from  all  I  had  heard  I  should  be 
justified  in  assuming  the  tone  of  the  services  to  be  fairly 
typical  of  the  ideal  of  culture  prevailing  in  Chicago.  I 
heard  so  much  of  the  language  of  culture  in  the  higher 
classes  of  Chicago  society  that  I  was  almost  prepared  to 
admit  that  I  had  been  unjustly  prejudiced  in  the  state- 
ments which  I  have  made  from  time  to  time  concerning 

1 83 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

America:  but  if  the  discourse  to  which  I  listened  on  the 
morning  of  which  I  speak  stands  in  any  way  as  an  expres- 
sion of  the  Chicago  ideal  of  culture,  that  ideal  is,  I  regret 
to  say,  a  low  one.  I  shall  venture  to  say  that  it  is  chiefly 
lacking  in  definition  of  aim,  and  yet,  alas,  I  know  how 
little  right  I  have  to  indulge  in  such  a  criticism,  for  have 
I  not  been  accused  of  being  sadly  to  seek,  myself,  in  *a 
philosophy  with  coherent  interdependent,  subordinate, 
and  derivative  principles?'  There  was  something  quite 
pathetic  to  me  in  the  thought  that  this  discourse,  with 
its  dreary  waste  of  unctuous  commonplace,  its  diluted 
rhetoric,  and  its  judgments,  many  of  them  so  ludicrously 
commonplace,  should  be  to  such  an  audience  as  I  saw 
about  me,  the  embodiment  of  cultured  thought,  and  from 
time  to  time  I  could  not  help  thinking  that  Philistinism 
in  its  frank  English  expression  was  a  less  unpleasant 
sight  than  was  afforded  by  the  thinly-disguised  Philis- 
tinism which  was  here  imposing  on  itself  and  making 
pretense  of  culture. 

"Chicago  society,  I  should  say,  although  no  one  can  be 
more  painfully  aware  than  myself  of  how  inadequate  were 
my  opportunities  for  observation,  has  just  reached  the 
stage  of  development  at  which  the  incompleteness  of  the 
commercial  ideal  of  life  is  beginning  to  make  itself  keenly 
felt  and  is  somewhat  uncertainly  groping  in  search  of  the 
larger  and  finer  things  whose  existence  it  dimly  appre- 
hends. But  it  has  not  yet  reached  the  stage  of  clear  dis- 
cernment and  is  easily  satisfied  with  the  appearance  of 
culture,  even  if  the  substance  be  wanting.  .  .  .  The 
prevailing  attitude  of  Chicago  society  toward  things  of 
culture  has  about  it  an  air  of  patronage.  It  seems  to  say: 

[  84  ] 


MAJOR    HENRY    ALOXZO    HUNTINGTON 


"The  Tribune's  Heavy  Fall" 

'These  things  are  desirable,  and  we  will  make  them  the 
fashion.'  All  that  need  be  done  is  to  build  costly  chapels, 
to  purchase  expensive  pictures,  to  make  the  concert  and 
the  opera  places  ot  fashionable  resort.  How  different  is 
this  from  the  humble  attitude  of  the  one  who  knows  that 
to  be  genuine  it  must  grow  up  silently  with  the  life.  'The 
Kingdom  of  God  cometh  not  with  observation.'  Nor,  I 
fear,  will  the  sweetness  and  light  of  the  cultured  life  come 
to  Chicago  at  the  beck  of  the  rich  man." 

It  was  arranged  by  the  conspirators  that  this  should 
be  printed  in  just  one  copy  of  the  earliest  edition  of  The 
New  York  Tribune  on  Sunday,  April  6, 1884,  and  that  this 
copy  should  get  into  the  hands  of  the  New  York  repre- 
sentative of  The  Chicago  Tribune.  Naturally  he  lost  no 
time  in  telegraphing  such  a  choice  morsel  to  this  city, 
and  it  appeared  in  the  next  morning's  paper  adorned  with 
the  headlines: 

MATTHEW  ARNOLD 

England's  incomparable  egotist  gives  a  few 

OF  HIS   impressions   OF   CHICAGO 


SURPRISE   AND   CHAGRIN 

THAT  COMMERCIAL  MEN   SHOULD   INVADE 

THE   REALM  OF  CULTURE 


The  Statements  made  were  so  sensational  that  repor- 
ters were  sent  out  to  interview  many  prominent  citizens, 
and  among  them  several  members  of  this  club.  Few  of 
them,   alas,  recognized   the  spurious  character  of  the 

[  85 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

article.  As  Major  Huntington  wrote,  fifteen  years  later, 
"McClurg  should  have  been  the  historian  of  this  episode. 
He  alone  in  a  trying  moment  faced  the  interviewer  with- 
out loss  of  self-command,  and  stood  by  the  apostle  of 
sweetness  and  light  whom  Poole  had  bitterly  denounced." 
David  Swing  was  among  those  whose  comments  were 
printed  the  next  morning.  "I  do  not  care  to  say  much," 
he  answered  the  interviewer;  but  he  did,  and  at  the  end 
remarked:  "The  Pall  Mall  letter  reminds  one  of  that  lim- 
burger  cheese  which  Mark  Twain  traveled  with.  Its  won- 
derful odor  coming  from  a  hidden  cause  led  the  brakeman 
to  remark:  'Not  much  heliotrope  in  the  air.'  All  one  can 
say  is  that  Matthew  Arnold  carries  in  his  soul  a  limburger 
cheese  that  does  not  resemble  the  heliotrope."  Franklin 
Head,  who  was  not  interviewed,  detected  the  hoax  as 
soon  as  he  read  the  article,  and  made  a  small  bet  with 
Nathaniel  K.  Fairbank  that  it  would  turn  out  to  be  such. 
At  the  meeting  of  the  club  held  on  the  evening  of  the  day 
that  the  article  appeared,  Bishop  Fallows  expressed  the 
opinion  that  it  was  probably  a  hoax.  Thereupon  Slason 
Thompson  rose,  and,  without  cracking  a  smile,  called 
attention  to  the  fact  that  although  The  Tribune  pre- 
tended to  have  received  the  article  from  London,  it  was 
not  mentioned  in  any  of  the  cable  dispatches  to  other 
newspapers,  and  that  critical  examination  would  reveal 
many  flaws  in  it.  And  he  pointed  out  in  particular  that 
Mr.  Arnold  could  not  be  credited  with  such  bad  taste  as 
to  criticize  in  harsh  terms  Professor  Swing  whose  guest 
he  had  been.  The  members  present  were  not  surprised 
therefore,  when  on  the  next  day  The  Daily  News  showed 
up  what  was  described  as  "The  Tribune's  Heavy  Fall." 

[  86  1 


Dr.  Smith  Elected  President 

For  the  presidency  during  the  season  of  1 884-1 885 
David  Swing  was  nominated  but  because  of  the  preca- 
rious state  of  his  health  he  felt  obliged  to  decline,  and, 
much  to  our  regret  he  could  never  afterward  be  persuaded 
to  accept  the  office,  always  refusing  for  the  same  reason, 
which,  he  said,  made  regular  attendance  at  the  meetings 
quite  impossible  for  him,  though  he  always  came  when 
he  could  and  felt  able.  The  choice  then  fell  upon  another 
well-beloved  member  whom  we  were  glad  to  honor— Dr. 
Charles  Oilman  Smith.  Commenting  upon  this  Major 
Huntington  wrote  in  1899:  "Shortly  before  his  election 
appeared  Gillam's  striking  caricature  of  the  tattooed 
man  after  Gerome's  'Phryne  Before  the  Tribunal.'  Of 
this  I  was  reminded  when  called  upon  for  an  informal 
account  of  my  stewardship.  I  vaguely  remember  saying 
that  the  budget  had  been  so  adjusted  that  the  burdens  of 
the  poor  had  been  borne  by  the  rich  and  the  burdens  of 
the  rich  had  been  borne  by  the  poor,  and  boasting  that 
no  candidate  for  membership  had  been  blackballed  be- 
cause none  had  passed  the  committee,  which  I  likened  to 
the  landlord  who  exulted  that  no  guest  ever  died  in  his 
house  for  the  excellent  reason  that  he  had  always  put  the 
sick  out  on  the  sidewalk.  These  remarks  were  perhaps 
funnier  at  the  moment  than  they  seem  in  retrospect,  but 
if  I  did  not  deceive  myself,  the  club  was  somewhat  amused 
when  I  said:  'Finally  we  have  nominated  for  president  a 
man,  who,  if  he  be  tattooed,  is  so  punctuated  with  bons 
mots  and  epigrams  that  it  will  always  be  a  pleasure  to 
peruse  his  person.' " 

One  of  the  meetings  during  Dr.  Smith's  administration 
stands  out  conspicuously  in  the  club's  history.  On  the 

[  sy  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

evening  of  December  15, 1884,  eighty  members  gathered 
to  take  part  in  or  to  listen  to  the  Conversation,  never  to 
be  forgotten  by  any  one  of  them — eleven  of  the  number 
are  still  living — when  James  Norton  juggled  with  the 
question  "What  Was  the  Matter  with  Hamlet?"  Charlie 
Smith,  as  he  was  always  affectionately  called,  was  in  the 
chair,  seated  at  Norton's  right.  Well  do  I  remember  how 
Norton  turned  to  Smith  "with  a  face  as  guileless  as  one 
of  Raphael's  cherubs  and  asked  the  chair  as  a  medical 
man,  whether  it  was  not  possible  that  disorders  of  the  liver 
might  be  in  some  way  the  cause  of  mental  derangement?" 
We  are  indebted  to  Dr.  Hyde's  excellent  memory  for  the 
phraseology  of  this  question  and  the  reply  of  Dr.  Smith 
"who  responded  rather  learnedly  that  he  thought  it  pos- 
sible that  severe  and  continued  hepatic  derangement  could 
lay  the  foundation  for  a  nervous  disturbance  which  might 
by  accident  be  precipitated  toward  the  insane  state." 
With  imperturbable  gravity  and  slowly  measured  speech, 
Norton  went  on  to  say  that,  as  the  Commentaries  of 
Caesar,  with  which  we  are  all  familiar,  declare  that  "all 
Gaul  is  divided  into  three  parts,"  and  as  Hamlet  had 
declared  that  he  was  "pigeon  livered  and  destitute  of 
gall,"  he  would  like  to  ask  the  doctor  whether,  if  Hamlet 
had  lost  two  parts  of  his  gall,  might  not  that  explain  his 
insanity?  The  laugh  that  followed  and  that  fairly  shook 
the  room,  was  in  part  only  due  to  Norton's  ingenious  pun ; 
it  was  due  in  large  measure  to  the  stunned  expression 
upon  Dr.  Smith's  face  as  he  gradually  grasped  the  situa- 
tion and  realized  the  dilemma  into  which  Norton  had  so 
dexterously  decoyed  him. 

From  the  time  when  the  question  of  the  appropriate- 

[   88  ] 


DR.    JAMES    NEVINS    HYDE 


A  Standing  Club  )okh 


ness  of  the  name  of  the  ckib  was  first  raised  the  criticism 
was  often  made  that  although  it  was  called  a  literary  club 
it  had  among  its  members  not  a  single  man  to  whom  the 
designation  "literary"  could  properly  be  applied.  This 
ignored  the  fact  that  the  published  work  of  our  distin- 
guished first  president  had  won  the  admiration  ot  many 
thousands  of  readers;  that  Major  Huntington's  only  ac- 
tivity was  writing  and  that  the  literary  quality  of  all  that 
he  wrote  insured  him  a  ready  market  for  it;  that  several 
of  our  members  earned  their  living  as  editorial  writers  on 
the  staffs  of  newspapers ;  that  others  were  authors  of  some 
note,  and  among  these  one  had  written  two  books  that 
had  a  large  circulation.  As  Dr.  Hyde  said  some  years 
later:  "In  thatday  the'ClubPapers' were  still  in  embryo; 
Head  had  not  produced  that  striking  series  of  historical 
romances  which  have  since  made  the  name  of  this  club 
famous  the  world  over;  many  of  the  later  literary  works 
from  the  pens  of  our  younger  members  had  not  been 
printed,  and  the  several  treatises  written  chiefly  for  the 
learned  professions  had  not  seen  the  light,  among  which 
may  be  named  as  facile  princeps  and  destined  to  survive 
the  most  of  its  fellows,  'High  on  Receivers.'  Our  one 
literary  man  was  William  Mathews,  then  the  author  of 
'Getting  on  in  the  World,'  later,  of  'Monday  Chats.' 
Many  of  us  remember  him  as  one  with  a  brain  stuffed  as 
full  as  a  sausage  with  miscellaneous  odds  and  ends  of 
literary  data  and  possessed  of  features  that  suggested  that 
they  had  survived  a  railway  accident  without  attaining 
that  sort  of  composed  expression  which  results  chiefly 
from  a  successful  suit  for  damages.  No  one  appreciated 
more  than  he  any  chance  reference  to  his  lack  of  physical 

1 89 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

comeliness.  He  used  to  tell  of  himself  that  when  barely 
able  to  talk,  he  was  one  day  lost  in  his  native  town,  and 
when  a  stranger  asked  him  what  he  was  called,  he  prompt- 
ly responded:  'I  am  called  the  mos'  boo'ful  boy  in  Bos- 
ton.'" Here  it  may  be  noted  that  in  March,  1899,  Mr. 
Mathews,  then  in  his  eighty-first  year,  wrote  the  secretary 
of  the  club:  "I  confess  that  when,  in  1880, 1  was  contem- 
plating a  removal  from  the  Garden  City  to  the  'Hub,' 
the  one  thing  which,  more  than  any  other,  gave  me  pause 
— which  tugged  hardest  at  my  heartstrings — was  the 
thought  that  I  must  bid  adieu  to  the  Literary  Club.  Even 
today,  after  nineteen  years  have  passed,  whenever  I  re- 
ceive the  Year-Book  of  the  Club,  or  Memorials  of  its 
members,  I  feel  some  'compunctious  visitings'  regarding 
the  change,  and  a  kind  of  homesickness  unlike  any  other." 

The  saying  that  our  club  was  a  literary  club  without 
a  literary  man  in  it,  after  it  had  been  repeated  a  few  times, 
became  a  standing  joke.  Its  effect  upon  an  English  uni- 
versity member  of  parliament,  who,  on  a  journey  around 
the  world,  found  himself  in  Chicago  on  a  Monday  even- 
ing in  the  spring  of  1885  and  was  brought  to  the  club, 
was  well  told  by  Judge  Brown  at  the  celebration  of  our 
twenty-fifth  anniversary  in  1889. 

"Those  of  you  who  were  present,  say  fourteen  years 
ago,  and  heard  the  little  speech  made  by  'the  sitting  mem- 
ber from  Cambridge,'  will  not,  I  think,  fail  to  be  amused 
by  being  reminded  of  it,  and  I  do  not  think  you  can  have 
entirely  forgotten  it.  And  those  of  you  who  are  newer  and 
younger  members  of  the  club  will  see  that  in  the  'consul- 
ship of  Plancus'  we  had  things  happen  unpremeditatedly 
almost  as  amusing  as  those  which  our  admirable  exercises 

[  90  ] 


Memorable  Speech  by  a  Guest 

committee  furnished  a  year  or  two  ago  in  its  carefully 
prepared  art  exhibition.  The  meeting  was  one  of  those 
informal  affairs  in  which  all  the  members  were  invited  to 
participate  in  a  conversation  upon  a  given  topic,  and 
among  others,  our  valued  and  beloved  fellow  member 
Bishop  Cheney  had  spoken  admirably.  Toward  the  end  of 
the  evening  our  guest  was  invited  to  make  a  few  remarks. 
It  is  perhaps  proper  to  say  that  he  was  an  intense  con- 
servative. Why  the  liberal  university  had  returned  him 
I  do  not  know.  He  seemed  to  me  a  better  representative 
of  Oxford  with  its  extremely  high  church  and  tory  con- 
victions. In  his  opening  remark  he  alluded  to  something 
that  Bishop  Cheney  had  said,  as  having  been  'spoken 
upon  very  high,  nay  almost^  with  very  strong  emphasis 
upon  almost^  'episcopal  authority.'  Then  he  went  on  to 
say,  almost  in  these  words:  'When  I  return  to  my  native 
country  from  the  journey  that  I  have  just  made  around 
the  world,  I  shall  then  tell  them  that  the  most  remarkable 
sights  I  have  seen  are,  I  think,  two  cities  which  closely 
resemble  each  other.  One  may  be  called  the  frontier  out- 
post of  the  civilization  of  Europe  toward  the  East,  the 
other,  so  to  speak,  the  frontier  outpost  of  the  civilization 
of  America  toward  the  West,  each  stretching  out  as  it 
were,  its  hands  to  the  other.  I  remark  a  most  singular 
resemblance  between  them  in  their  inner  life,  and  as  it 
were,  in  their  spiritual, mental,  and  moral  characteristics. 
The  other  city  of  which  I  speak  is  Nishni  Novgorod. 
Nishni  Novgorod  and  Chicago!  These  are  the  cities  which 
I  shall  describe  to  my  friends  and  my  family,  when  I 
return,  as  the  two  most  interesting  and  remarkable  cities 
which  I  visited.  I  have  seen  in  Chicago  many  remarkable 

[   91    ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

things.  I  have  been  to  your  stockyards.  I  have  seen  the 
wonderful  procession  of  slaughtered  animals  which  leave 
the  abattoirs  of  that  immense  industrial  organization  to 
feed  the  armies  of  the  world.  I  have  seen  what  you  call 
your  parks  and  boulevards,  but  of  all  the  things  that  I 
have  seen,  as  I  shall  tell  my  people  when  I  return,  the  most 
extraordinary  and  remarkable  thing  which  has  happened 
to  me  in  this  most  extraordinary  and  remarkable  city  is 
that  I  have  participated  in  the  exercises  of  a  literary  club 
in  which  there  is  not  a  single  literary  man.'  " 

James  Norton  was  our  president  during  the  season  of 
1885-1886;  Henry  T.  Steele  and  Dr.  Nevins  Hyde  were 
vice-presidents.  Major  Huntington  relates:  "It  was  my 
privilege  not  only  to  propose  James  Norton  for  member- 
ship in  the  club,  but  also  to  nominate  him  for  its  highest 
office.  The  night  of  his  election  to  the  latter  he  turned  to 
me  and  asked,  'Is  it  really  such  a  great  honor  to  be  presi- 
dent with  Steele  and  Hyde  for  c;/<:(?-presidents?'  Merely  to 
mention  Norton  who,  stricken  with  a  mortal  disease  of 
the  large  intestine  could  yet  make  jokes  on  his  semi- 
colon, is  to  evoke  countless  good  things  of  his.  Old  mem- 
bers will  recall  his  clever  distinction  between  performing 
reformers  and  reforming  performers,  nor  will  they  have 
forgotten  his  paper  on  Hamlet's  madness." 

This  is  perhaps  as  good  a  place  as  any  to  insert  the 
only  remaining  items  of  Huntington's  reminiscences  that 
have  not  already  been  quoted: 

"The  club  'Conversations'  in  my  time  were  not  the 
most  exhilarating  of  the  exercises,  but  they  were  some- 
times a  source  of  inspiration.  One  particular  paragraph 
in  a  Dial  article  of  mine  is  so  directly  traceable  to  a 

[  92  ] 


More  Huntington  Witticisms 

conversation  on  'Literary  Men  in  Politics,'  led  hy  Ezra 
McCagg,  that  to  quote  it  here  will  hardly  seem  imperti- 
nent:'On  the  third  of  October,  1849,  dragged  by  election- 
eering ruffians,  Edgar  Allen  Poe  was  made  to  vote  in 
eleven  different  wards  in  the  city  of  Baltimore.  Four  days 
later  he  died  in  a  hospital,  the  earliest  victim  to  the 
popular  demand  for  the  literary  man  in  politics.' 

''Not  long  ago  I  was  asked  what  was  the  object  of  a 
certain  society,  and  thoughtlessly  answered:  'The  same 
object  that  every  society  has  had  since  Cain  founded  his 
—  to  exclude  somebody.'  I  had  for  the  moment  forgotten 
the  Literary  Club,  which  is  founded  on  the  principle  of 
inclusiveness,  restricted  only  by  its  purposes  and  the 
qualifications  of  character  and  culture  exacted  of  those 
desiring  admission.  Among  our  earliest  companions  was 
a  dealer  in  men's  furnishing  goods,  the  contrast  between 
whose  social  obscurity  and  intellectualdistinction  spurred 
me  to  the  making  of  what  passed  for  an  epigram,  'He 
knows  everything  and  he  knows  nobody!'  There  is,  how- 
ever, a  point  where  inclusiveness  ceases  to  be  a  virtue 
and  becomes  a  peril.  That  such  was  the  opinion  of  the 
club  in  my  time  was  shown  by  the  cold  reception  ot  kind 
Mr.  Cleveland's  serious  proposal  to  admit  the  public  to 
our  meetings,  which  I  supported  with  the  ironic  sugges- 
tion that,  as  the  public  would  doubtless  find  us  dread- 
ful bores,  the  revenues  of  the  club  might  be  increased 
by  demanding  an  exit  fee  from  any  outsider  trying  to 
escape." 

The  major  might  have  added  had  he  not  forgotten  it, 
that  he  then  drew  a  picture  of  meetings  open  to  the 
public  as  degenerating  into  "forlorn  assemblages  of  long- 

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The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

haired  men  and  short-haired  women,"  before  going  on  to 
say: 

"This  want  of  sympathy  with  mistaken  philanthropy 
is,  I  think,  the  only  indication  of  exclusiveness  that  stains 
the  annals  of  the  club.  To  its  membership  poverty  has 
been  welcomed  and  wealth  has  been  no  bar.  In  an  age 
given  over  to  the  worship  of  the  ignorant  'smart,'  when 
the  wool  sack  is  a  seat  of  lesser  honor  than  the  coach-box, 
and  he  that  drives  for  women  has  almost  eclipsed  him 
that  died  for  men,  too  much  stress  cannot  be  laid  upon 
these  facts  in  our  history,  that  no  man  was  ever  turned 
from  our  doors  for  any  mean  social  reason,  and  that  we 
have  always  been  rich  in  poor  men." 

For  a  graphic  account  of  an  amusing  incident  that 
occurred  not  long  after  Norton  was  inaugurated,  we  are 
indebted  to  Dr.  Hyde.  In  November,  1885,  Archdeacon 
Frederick  W.  Farrar  visited  Chicago  and  the  club  ten- 
dered him  a  reception  which  was  held  in  our  rooms  late 
on  an  evening  after  he  had  delivered  a  lecture  in  Central 
Music  Hall.  "Of  the  fun  enjoyed  at  the  receptions  given 
by  the  club,"  said  Dr.  Hyde,  "one  may  well  doubt  whether 
any  equals  that  which  some  of  us  shared  when  Walter 
Larned  afterward  told  us  of  his  experiences  as  chairman  of 
the  entertainment  committee"  at  this  reception.  Having 
escorted  the  distinguished  guest  to  the  club  rooms,  the 
assembled  members  and  guests  were  duly  presented  to 
him.  "Of  the  line  of  hand-shakers  introduced  to  the  arch- 
deacon only  a  few  attempted  conversation.  One  of  our 
members  ventured  on  the  remark,  'Archdeacon  Farrar, 
I  learned  from  one  of  your  books  the  only  Greek  word  I 
know.'  The  witty  woman  on  the  speaker's  arm  instantly 

[  94 1 


Reception  to  Archbishop  Farrar 

added: 'You  can  scarcely  appreciate,  Archdeacon  Farrar, 
what  a  great  task  you  have  accomplished  in  teaching  my 
friend  a  single  word  of  anything  in  any  langnageV  'Quite 
so!'  was  INIr.  Farrar's  laconic  response. 

"Larned  was  on  the  spot  as  the  last  shaker  had  satis- 
fied his  conscience,  and  immediately  escorted  our  guest 
to  the  supper  room  where  he  had  provided  everything 
with  a  view  to  English  tastes  and  an  English  appetite. 
Said  he,  'Archdeacon  Farrar,  will  you  permit  me  to  offer 
you  some  Bass's  ale  right  from  the  wood;  or  some  sherry; 
or  some  hock,  or  some  champagne;  or  some  Scotch  whis- 
key?' 'Excuse  me,'  returned  the  archdeacon,  'you  know  I 
am  a  total  abstainer,  and  came  to  America  to  lecture  on 
temperance  as  well  as  upon  Browning.'  But  Earned  was 
not  daunted.  'Well  then,'  he  went  on,  'let  me  offer  you 
some  beef-steak  pie,  or  some  game  pie,  or  some  venison 
pasty?'  'Thank  you,'  said  our  guest,  after  surveying  the 
entire  table  critically  through  his  glasses,  'I  think  I  will 
take  nothing.'  'Will  you  not  at  least,'  urged  our  chairman, 
'have  some  ice  cream  such  as  the  ladies  are  enjoying?' 
But  the  archdeacon  would  have  naught.  I  saw  him  a  little 
later  sitting  at  one  end  of  the  room,  looking  as  though  he 
had  lost  his  last  friend.  Finally  an  idea  occurred  to  him 
and  he  beckoned  with  a  significant  finger  to  Earned,  who 
hurried  to  his  side.  'Would  you,'  said  the  archdeacon, 
'mind  fetching  me  a  glass  of  ginger  ale?'  Earned  ran  to 
one  of  the  waiters  and  handed  him  a  dollar.  'Cjo  out,'  said 
he,  'and  buy  a  bottle  of  ginger  ale  or  die!'  And  so  at  last 
the  archdeacon  secured  his  refreshment;  but  no  one  has 
yet  revealed  who  ate  Earned 's  beef-steak  pies  and  veni- 
son pasties  at  the  midnight  hour  at  the  top  of  Portland 

[    95    1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

Block."  To  those  of  us  who  did  not  overhear  this  by-play 
the  reception  seemed  a  lamentably  dull  affair.  Not  for 
many  years  afterward  did  we  again  venture  to  offer  hospi- 
tality to  a  distinguished  man  from  overseas. 


[  96  ] 


Chapter  VII 

BESIDES  the  notuMe  occurrences  of  the  seasons 
of  1 884-1 885,  and  1 885-1 886,  when  we  occupied 
rooms  on  the  fourth,  then  the  top  floor,  of  Port- 
land Block,  that  were  related  in  the  last  chapter,  there 
are  a  few  others  that  should  be  here  chronicled.  One  of 
these  is  the  striking  effect  of  an  impromptu  speech  made 
by  Dr.  Emil  G.  Hirsch  who  was  called  upon  to  say  a  few 
words  after  Dr.  Charles  Oilman  Smith  had  delivered  his 
inaugural  address  as  president  on  October  6,  1884.  The 
substance  of  the  speech  has  not  been  recorded.  No  reporter 
was  present  to  take  it  down.  I  distinctly  recall  the  im- 
pression that  it  made  upon  the  one  hundred  and  three 
members  who  were  present  and  who  listened  in  spell- 
bound amazement  and  delight,  to  the  clean-cut,  polished 
sentences,  each  one  of  which,  spoken  without  the  slightest 
hesitation,  was  as  perfect  in  form  and  diction  as  though 
it  had  been  carefully  thought  out  and  put  into  shape  by 
the  expenditure  of  painstaking  care  in  searching  for  just 
the  right  words  to  express  the  speaker's  thoughts,  and 
in  selecting  after  many  trials,  the  arrangement  of  the 
phrases  best  calculated  to  secure  their  effective  presen- 
tation. Though  Dr.  Hirsch  had  been  a  member  for  nearly 
three  years,  had  edited  and  read  an  "Informal" — the 
name  used  to  designate  a  group  of  short  papers  by  sev- 
eral contributors — and  had  taken  part  from  time  to 
time  in  "Conversations"  on  various  subjects,  this  was  the 
first  occasion  on  which  his  fellow  members  were  made 

( 97 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

aware  of  his  phenomenal  gift  of  verbal  expression.  We 
knew  that  he  was  a  man  of  uncommonly  brilliant  intel- 
lect and  that  he  was  in  high  repute  as  a  speaker,  but  the 
extraordinary  literary  facility  that  he  displayed  came  to 
most  of  us  as  a  revelation.  The  favorable  comments  made 
at  the  time  were  very  many.  Greatly  to  our  regret  Dr. 
Hirsch  resigned  in  March,  1913,  having  for  some  years 
prior  thereto  found  it  difficult  to  attend  the  meetings  as 
his  cares  and  responsibilities  increased. 

During  the  season  of  1 884-1 885  two  ladies'  night  meet- 
ings were  held.  Both  of  these  are  memorable.  The  first 
one  was  held  on  December  i,  1884,  and  was  attended  by 
ninety-eight  members  and  about  a  hundred  lady  guests. 
Undeterred  by  the  sequel  to  the  reception  and  dinner 
given  by  the  club  to  Matthew  Arnold  in  the  preceding 
January,  Franklin  MacVeagh  read  a  paper  on  the  dis- 
tinguished English  poet  and  essayist,  which  was  not  only 
an  appreciative  tribute  to  him  as  a  man  and  as  an  author, 
but,  by  inevitable  inference,  though  not  by  direct  expres- 
sion, was  meant  to  remove  any  possible  taint  that  might, 
however  unjustly,be  imputed  to  the  club  as  a  consequence 
of  the  famous  hoax  related  in  the  last  chapter.  An  amus- 
ing incident  occurred  when  in  this  paper  MacVeagh  used 
the  phrase:  "Nature,  ever  abundant,  is  never  superflu- 
ous." Edward  Isham  who  was  afflicted  with  a  distress- 
ingly large  and  heavy  paunch,  and  was  standing  and 
leaning  on  his  chair  as  he  listened,  could  not  resist  making 
the  forcible  comment:  "A  damned  lie!"  These  words 
were  uttered  sotto  voce  but  in  such  clear  tones  that  they 
were  plainly  heard  by  all  the  assembled  members  and 
guests,  much  to  their  delight. 

[  98  ] 


Presentation  of  Portraits 


At  the  second  ladies'  night,  which  was  held  on  Mon- 
day, March  23,  1885 — when  the  cluh  was  just  ten  days 
more  than  eleven  years  old — a  loan  collection  of  paintings 
by  noted  artists  and  unknown  amateurs  was  hung  upon 
the  walls  of  the  club  rooms.  The  exercises  consisted  of 
presentation  speeches  on  behalf  of  the  donors  of  portraits 
of  two  of  our  ex-presidents.  Judge  Charles  Burrall  Law- 
rence, and  Edwin  Channing  Larned.  Both  were  painted 
by  Lawrenc-e  Carmichael  Earle.  The  portrait  of  Judge 
Lawrence  was  given  to  us  by  the  artist;  that  of  Mr. 
Larned,  by  the  members  of  his  family.  Mr.  Earle  was  for 
many  years  the  best-known  painter  resident  in  Chicago, 
and  was  one  of  the  few  artists  whose  names  appear  upon 
our  membership  rolls.  He  removed  to  New  York  about 
1890  and  lived  there  until  about  1913.  Thereafter  until 
his  death  in  1921,  at  the  age  of  about  seventy-five,  he 
made  his  home  in  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan.  To  the  last 
he  kept  his  interest  in  the  club  as  frequent  letters  to  the 
secretary  attested. 

The  club  rooms  in  Portland  Block  were  excellently 
adapted  to  our  needs  and  had  only  one  marked  disadvan- 
tage—  the  invasion  of  smoke  from  neighboring  chimneys 
was  so  constant  and  in  such  volume  that  the  struggle  to 
keep  the  furniture,  carpets  and  draperies  decently  clean, 
though  never-ending,  was  quite  hopeless.  The  location, 
however,  was  so  ideal  that  despite  this  drawback,  it  was 
with  regret  that  we  faced  the  necessity  of  moving  when 
the  owner  of  the  building  announced  his  intention  to  add 
two  stories  to  it,  and  declined  to  renew  our  lease.  The 
Art  Institute  was  then  contemplating  the  erection  of  the 
building  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Michigan  Avenue  and 

[   99   ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

Van  Buren  Street  that  it  occupied  for  six  years,  and 
which,  since  1893,  has  been  the  home  of  the  Chicago 
Club.  i\s  the  plans  designed  by  John  Wellborn  Root,  who 
was  one  of  our  early  and  well-beloved  members,  were  for 
a  building  somewhat  larger  than  the  immediate  needs  of 
the  Art  Institute  required,  the  trustees  made  the  club  an 
offer  to  furnish  us  with  quarters  in  the  new  building,  if 
and  when  it  should  be  erected,  provided  we  would  take 
a  lease  for  ten  years.  At  the  meeting  of  the  club  held 
on  March  30,  1885,  General  Alexander  C.  McClurg,  the 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  rooms  and  finance,  pre- 
sented a  report  in  favor  of  accepting  the  offer,  and  was 
by  the  club  authorized  to  do  so.  The  arrangements  for 
erecting  the  building  were  not  completed  until  the  fol- 
lowing year,  and  not  until  March  15,  1886,  did  the  com- 
mittee of  which  Walter  Cranston  Larned  was  then  the 
chairman,  lay  before  the  club  alternative  plans  for  divid- 
ing into  rooms  the  space  we  were  to  occupy. 

As  our  lease  of  the  rooms  in  Portland  Block  ran  only 
until  the  end  of  April  and  the  new  rooms  would  not  be 
ready  for  our  occupancy  before  the  autumn  of  1887,  we 
were  much  pleased  when  the  Union  League  Club  offered 
us  the  hospitality  of  a  room  in  its  new  building  on  Jackson 
Boulevard  for  our  meetings  scheduled  for  May  and  June, 
1886.  It  was  found,  however,  that  the  large  banquet 
hall  on  the  upper  floor  of  Kinsley's  restaurant  on  Adams 
Street  between  Dearborn  and  Clark  Streets  was  better 
suited  to  our  use  than  any  room  that  the  Union  League 
Club  could  furnish  us.  Therefore,  as  we  faced  the  prospect 
of  being  without  a  home,  not  merely  for  two  months  but 
also  for  the  entire  season  of  1 886-1 887,  it  was  decided  to 

[   100  ] 


GENERAL    ALEXANDER     CALDWELL     McCLURC; 


A  Regrettable  Incident 


hold  the  meetings  at  Kinsley's  save  on  evenings  when  the 
banquet  hall  would  not  be  available,  and  to  take  advan- 
tage ot  the  kindness  of  the  Union  League  Club  on  such 
occasions  only. 

An  episode  that  occurred  in  the  last  year  of  our  occupa- 
tion of  the  Portland  Block  rooms  is  happily  unique  in  the 
club's  history.  Although  the  reading  room  was  supplied 
with  an  attractive  lot  ot  periodicals,  and  all  the  rooms 
were  kept  open  to  the  members  on  week  days  from  nine 
o'clock  in  the  morning  until  five  in  the  evening,  extensive 
use  of  them  was  made  by  only  one  member,  a  lawyer 
whose  fortunes  were  at  a  very  low  ebb.  When  complaints 
began  to  come  in  from  other  members  that  magazines  they 
wished  to  read  had  been  taken  from  the  rooms  and  were 
not  always  returned  and  that  some  were  mutilated  by  the 
abstraction  of  illustrations,  suspicion  naturally  fell  upon 
the  member  who  made  the  most  frequent  use  of  the  rooms. 
Although  it  was  not  proved  that  he  ever  carried  any  of 
them  away,  it  was  found  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  using 
the  rooms  as  an  office  for  the  transaction  of  business  with 
non-members,  and  for  this  abuse  of  his  privilege,  the 
chairman  on  rooms  and  finance  "after  due  investigation," 
so  the  record  states,  moved  that  his  name  be  dropped 
from  the  rolls.  When  this  motion  came  up  for  action  on 
April  26, 1 886,  at  the  last  meeting  held  in  Portland  Block, 
it  was  withdrawn  by  the  proposer,  and  the  resignation 
of  the  offending  member  was  presented  and  promptly 
accepted,  thus  closing  an  incident  that  is  regrettable  from 
every  point  of  view. 

After  this  meeting  our  lease  still  had  four  days  to  run. 
This  was  ample  for  the  orderly  and  careful  removal  of  the 

*    [   loi   ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

club's  belongings,  and  arrangements  to  have  them  taken 
away  on  the  following  day  had  been  duly  made.  As  I  was 
then  an  officer  of  the  Northwestern  National  Bank  and 
was  not  free  during  business  hours,  I  dropped  in  at  the 
club  rooms  about  eight-thirty  o'clock  the  next  morning 
to  give  instructions  to  the  janitor.  My  dismay  as  well  as 
my  surprise  may  well  be  imagined,  when  I  found  that, 
to  oblige  the  owner  of  the  building  who  wanted  to  com- 
plete the  addition  at  the  earliest  moment  possible,  Walter 
Larned  had  given  permission  for  the  workmen  to  begin 
the  work  of  demolition  immediately  after  we  had  vacated 
our  rooms  the  night  before.  It  was  a  pretty  sight  that 
greeted  my  eyes  when  I  arrived  upon  the  scene  of  destruc- 
tion. Not  only  were  the  rooms  dismantled,  but  our  prop- 
erty had  been  roughly  handled;  books,  periodicals,  table 
ware,  and  all  small  articles  had  been  thrust  into  open 
barrels,  carpets  had  been  torn  up,  portieres  and  window 
draperies  had  been  taken  down,  and  all  had  been  thrown 
in  a  pile  on  the  floor  without  wrapping  or  other  protection. 
The  plastering  was  Being  torn  from  the  walls  and  ceilings, 
the  air  was  thick  with  lime  dust  and  a  deep  coating  of  it 
lay  over  everything.  With  difficulty  I  managed  to  rescue 
the  archives,  the  record  books,  and  most  of  the  other 
property  that  was  in  my  especial  charge.  Some  things, 
however,  including  the  remaining  copies  of  early  club 
publications,  could  not  be  found  and  were  doubtless 
thrown  out  with  the  rubbish. 

My  duties  at  the  bank  made  it  necessary  for  me  to  hurry 
away  as  soon  as  I  could  reclaim  the  effects  of  which  I  was 
the  custodian.  Later  in  the  day  the  men  sent  by  Mr. 
Larned  to  take  away  the  furnishings  and  put  them  in 

[     I02    ]      • 


Removal  from  Portland  Block 

storage  until  we  should  again  have  use  tor  them,  extracted 
all  but  the  large  round  table  that  stootl  In  the  reading 
room.  That  they  overlooked.  How  they  managed  to  do 
so  Is  an  unfathomable  mystery.  Of  all  our  possessions 
it  was  the  most  imposing.  And,  though  the  mantle  of 
dust  in  the  fast  disappearing  rooms  was  very  thick,  it 
was  not  thick  enough  to  hide  an  object  so  conspicuous. 
Nevertheless  the  bulky  table  was  not  carried  away.  Then, 
taking  it  for  granted  that  the  abandonment  was  inten- 
tional, the  owner  of  the  building  placed  it  in  the  hands 
of  a  dealer  In  second-hand  furniture,  for  sale.  It  remained 
in  his  shop  until,  by  a  happy  chance,  as  we  were  fitting 
up  the  rooms  in  the  Art  Institute  Building,  one  of  our 
members  happened  to  see  it  as  he  was  passing  by. 
Surprised  and  puzzled  to  find  it  there,  he  telephoned  to 
Bryan  Lathrop,  then  the  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
rooms  and  finance,  who  made  haste  to  retrieve  it  and  had 
it  conveyed  to  the  club's  new  quarters.  When  we  took 
possession  of  the  rooms  a  month  later,  we  found  the  table 
placed  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  reading  room,  where,  as 
it  was  a  familiar  belonging.  It  helped  to  Impart  a  home- 
like aspect  to  the  surroundings. 

During  the  five  years  of  our  occupancy  of  the  Portland 
Block  quarters,  the  names  of  many  good  fellows  were 
added  to  our  membership  roll.  Of  these  thirteen  were  still 
with  us  when  we  rounded  out  our  fiftieth  year,  seven 
on  the  resident  and  six  on  the  non-resident  list.  In  the 
order  in  which  they  were  enrolled  these  are,  Cyrus  H. 
McCormick,  December, 1 88 1;  Henry  S.  Boutell,  March, 
1882;  Rev.  George  Batchelor,  and  John  J.  Glessner,  May, 
1883;  Dr.  Charles  G.  Fuller,  December,  1883;   Lyman 

[    loj   ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

J.  Gage,  February,  1884;  Paul  Shorey,  October,  1884; 
Charles  Lawrence  Hutchinson,  November,  1884;  Dr. 
Edward  Parker  Davis,  January,  1885;  William  M.  Salter, 
March,  1885;  Edward  P.  Bailey,  and  Thomas  Dent, 
March,  1886;  and  Rev.  Dr  Charles  Frederick  Bradley, 
April,  1886.  Of  those  who  were  enrolled  during  the  five 
years  and  have  since  passed  away,  several  were  so  closely 
identified  with  the  club  that  we  may  fittingly  interrupt 
our  narrative  at  this  point,  and  recall  them  to  memory. 

First  on  the  list  in  time  of  election  we  find  the  names 
of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Samuel  Fallows  and  Charles  Davisson 
Hamill.  During  the  ten  years  from  1881  to  1891  when 
Bishop  Fallows  remained  in  the  club  he  was  often  at  the 
meetings  and  was  always  ready  with  a  contribution  to 
the  literary  exercises  when  called  upon.  When  he  dropped 
out  because  the  demands  upon  his  time  and  strength 
prevented  him  from  availing  himself  of  the  privileges  of 
the  club  he  did  so  with  much  regret.  Mr.  Hamill  was  a 
devoted  member,  constant  in  his  attendance  for  many 
years  until  he  was  compelled  by  circumstances  to  resign. 
He  was  distinctly  a  clubable  man  and  had  many  close 
friends  among  his  fellow  members.  It  is  impossible  to 
think  of  the  club  as  it  was  during  the  twenty  years  when 
he  was  with  us,  without  a  vision  of  his  cheery  face  and 
genial  manner,  which  made  him  ever  welcome  at  our 
gatherings. 

Another  of  the  old-timers  who  rarely  missed  a  meeting 
so  long  as  he  was  a  resident  of  Chicago,  was  George 
Philip  Welles.  He  was  the  principal  of  one  of  the  city 
high  schools,  a  man  of  marked  individuality,  a  pleasant 
companion,  and  a  clever  writer  who  entertained  and  often 

[    104  ] 


Concerning  Early  Members 

amused  us  by  his  gentle  cynicism.  Two  others  who  should 
be  mentioned  are  Porter  P.  Heywood  who  was  elected 
in  1 88 1,  and  Robert  J.  Hendricks  who  joined  the  club  in 
the  following  year.  Both  of  them  formed  the  habit  of 
coming  to  the  meetings  regularly,  and  during  the  next 
decade  there  were  few  of  our  gatherings  when  at  least 
one  of  them  was  not  present. 

In  January,  1882,  Judge  Henry  W.  Blodgett  was  made 
a  member  of  the  club.  None  of  those  who  were  privileged 
to  know  him  well  can  ever  forget  the  impression  made  by 
his  sterling  integrity  of  mind,  by  the  penetrating  clarity 
of  his  vision,  by  his  judicial  poise,  and  the  extent  of  his 
learning.  Even  more  impossible  is  it  to  forget  the  impres- 
sion made  by  the  breadth  of  his  human  sympathy,  the 
depth  of  his  understanding,  and  his  capacity  for  enduring 
friendship.  To  have  the  friendship  of  such  a  man  was 
indeed  a  high  honor.  Living  in  Waukegan  he  could  not 
come  to  our  meetings  nearly  as  often  as  he  wished  and  as 
we  wished  very  much;  but  he  was  ever  ready  to  take  his 
part  in  the  literary  exercises,  and  it  was  always  a  gala 
night  when  he  favored  us  with  one  of  his  thoughtful  and 
well-written  papers. 

Another  jurist  who  was  elected  a  few  months  later  in 
the  same  year  (1882)  was  for  thirty-four  years  one  of  our 
most  devoted  members.  As  he  was  with  us  until  1916, 
merely  to  mention  the  name  of  Judge  Henry  Varnum 
Freeman  is  enough  to  bring  him  to  mind.  His  place  in 
our  affections  must  endure  as  long  as  memory  lasts.  Not 
only  did  we  hold  him  in  high  esteem  for  his  many  manly 
qualities  and  for  his  unswerving  uprightness  in  all  the 
relations  of  life,  but  we  were  deeply  attached  to  him  as  a 

[    105   J 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

friend  and  comrade.  In  a  very  special  sense  he  seems  a 
part  of  the  club,  as  we  look  back  upon  it;  and  we  felt  that 
as  long  ago  as  in  1 898-1 899  when  we  elected  him  as  our 
president  for  that  season. 

A  few  of  us  will  recall  William  LeBaron  Jenney  who 
was  elected  a  member  on  January  27,  1882,  but  made 
the  mistake  of  resigning  on  October  26,  1896.  Why  he 
dropped  out  we  never  knew.  We  liked  him  and  apparently 
he  liked  to  meet  with  us,  for  he  came  to  the  Monday 
evening  gatherings  with  much  regularity.  As  an  archi- 
tect his  standing  was  very  high.  We  were  fond  of  him  as 
a  man  and  proud  of  his  professional  attainments.  For 
nearly  fifteen  years  we  tried  to  let  him  see  that  we  re- 
garded him  as  "one  of  the  elect."  Doubtless  he  had  a 
good  reason  for  resigning,  but  we  were  sorry  to  lose  him 
from  our  number.  The  name  of  James  St.  Clair  Boal  also 
brings  to  mind  the  pleasing  personality  of  one  of  our 
members  who  was  deeply  attached  to  the  club.  He  was 
elected  in  March,  1882,  and  was  greatly  missed  by  his  fel- 
low members  when  he  died  five  years  later. 

Five  members  who  were  admitted  on  March  2,  1883, 
form  a  notable  group.  They  were  Charles  Sumner  Holt, 
Rev.  Simon  J.  McPherson,  D.D.,  Lorenzo  M.  Johnson, 
Rev.  George  Clement  Noyes,  and  Judge  Arba  N.  Water- 
man. All  of  them  were  among  the  club's  staunch  adher- 
ents and  ardent  supporters.  Mr.  Johnson  was  not  as 
actively  identified  with  the  club  as  were  the  others,  for 
the  reason  that  his  duties  as  president  of  the  Mexican 
National  Railway  Company  took  him  away  from  the 
city  much  of  the  time.  Dr.  McPherson  also  was  not  free 
to  come  to  the  meetings  regularly.  Mr.  Holt,  however, 

[  106  ] 


More  About  Early  Members 

always  came  when  he  could.  As  he  lived  until  only  six 
years  ago,  most  of  us  knew  him  well  and  will  long  cherish 
his  memory.  He  was  one  of  the  tried  and  true  who  ever 
gave  freely  of  time  and  strength  and  means  to  help  his 
fellow  man  and,  if  possible,  to  make  the  world  a  better 
place  to  live  in.  Would  there  were  more  of  his  kind.  Judge 
Waterman,  as  nearly  all  of  us  know,  was  also  a  man  of 
marked  individuality,  so  marked  that  to  convey  an  ade- 
quate impression  of  him  in  words  for  those  who  have 
come  into  the  club  since  his  time,  would  be  a  difficult 
undertaking.  Suffice  it  here  to  say  that  we  who  knew  him 
well  do  not  think  of  him  as  he  was  in  his  last  years,  when, 
broken  by  senile  decay,  his  faculties  became  clouded. 
Instead,  we  recall  the  former  soldier  who  had  distin- 
guished himself  in  the  Civil  War,  the  high-minded  judge, 
the  keen  student  of  human  nature,  nervously  high-strung, 
alert,  interested  in  many  different  things,  always  most 
companionable,  whom  we  were  glad  to  have  as  a  fellow 
member  and  glad  to  choose  our  president  for  the  season 
of  1 903  - 1 904. 

What  I  have  to  say  about  Dr.  Noyes,  and  also  about 
Samuel  S.  Greeley,  Rev.  Clinton  Locke,  and  Frederic 
W.  Root,  will  appear  in  later  chapters,  so  I  merely  mention 
their  names  and  pass  to  that  of  Frederick  Greeley  who 
was  elected  on  May  4,  1883,  and  for  nearly  thirty  years 
thereafter  was  one  of  our  best  beloved  members.  Few  of 
those  who  have  been  enrolled  in  all  of  the  forty-nine  years 
since  the  club  was  formed  have  done  as  much  as  he  did 
to  enliven  our  meetings.  In  a  very  special  way  he  was 
the  very  embodiment  of  wholesome  fun.  Where  serious 
things  were  concerned  he  could  be  serious,  though  not  too 

[  107  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

serious.  But  in  playtime  he  declined  to  look  upon  us  as  a 
coterie  of  solemn  seniors;  and  glad  we  were  of  the  laugh- 
ter that  his  clever  sallies  so  often  evoked.  He  was  a  good 
fellow,  in  all  that  the  phrase  connotes,  big  bodied  and 
big  hearted;  and  we  were  filled  with  sadness  when  he 
broke  down  in  health  and  passed  away  at  the  early  age 
of  fifty-seven  years. 

Leslie  Lewis  and  David  Brainerd  Lyman,  who  were 
elected  on  November  30,  1883,  were  among  the  men  of 
solid  worth  whom  we  must  always  revere  and  honor. 
Henry  Baldwin  Stone,  who  was  elected  at  the  same 
meeting,  and  Henry  Holmes  Belfield  and  Joseph  Lyman 
Silsbee  who  were  admitted  on  February  29, 1 8 84,  were  also 
devoted  members  who  by  their  presence  and  active  par- 
ticipation helped  much  to  make  our  meetings  enjoyable. 
Mr.  Silsbee,  to  our  regret,  was  obliged  for  financial  reasons 
to  give  up  his  membership  a  few  years  before  he  died. 

On  November  29,  1884,  three  members  were  elected 
whose  names  should  have  a  conspicuous  place  in  the 
annals  of  the  club.  One  of  them,  Charles  L.  Hutchinson, 
was  still  enrolled  on  our  resident  list  when  we  rounded  out 
our  first  fifty  years.  The  other  two  were  Franklin  Harvey 
Head  and  Frank  Seward  Johnson.  Of  Mr.  Head  I  shall 
have  more  to  say  in  a  later  chapter.  Dr.  Frank  Johnson's 
death  is  so  recent  that  many  of  us  can  hardly  realize  that 
he  has  been  taken  away.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
every  one  of  the  regular  attendants  at  our  meetings  during 
the  thirty-five  years  that  he  was  with  us  regarded  him  as 
a  personal  friend.  His  capacity  for  friendship  was  one  of 
his  most  salient  traits  and  was  the  outcome  of  kindly  feel- 
ing for  and  sympathetic  understanding  of  all  with  whom 

[    108   ] 


More  About  Early  Members 

he  came  in  contact.  We  loved  Dr.  Frank  and  miss  him 
sadly.  And  he  missed  us  when  failing  health  caused  him 
to  give  up  his  practice  and  to  make  his  home  in  California 
during  the  greater  part  of  his  last  years.  The  club  has 
never  had  a  more  loyal  member.  Walter  M.  Howland  and 
the  Rev.  Louis  S.  Osborne,  who  were  elected  at  the  same 
meeting,  also  had  many  friends  in  the  club.  As  long  as 
they  resided  in  Chicago  they  came  to  our  meetings  as  often 
as  they  could,  and  both  kept  their  interest  in  our  organ- 
ization undiminished  to  the  end  ot  their  lives. 

William  Adam  Montgomery  who  was  elected  in  May, 
1885,  and  Fletcher  Stewart  Bassett  who  was  elected  in 
November  of  that  year  will  also  be  well  remembered  by 
some  of  our  members,  though  both  of  them  died  in  1895. 
So  too,  will  William  H.  Ray,  a  highly  esteemed  member 
who  was  elected  in  1885  but  lived  only  four  years  there- 
after. There  are  on  the  roll  the  names  of  other  men  of  note 
in  the  community  who  might  be  mentioned,  but  it  is  the 
history  of  the  club  that  I  am  trying  to  tell,  and  it  is  only 
the  more  active  members  whose  forms  fill  out  the  picture 
as  the  bygone  days  are  brought  to  mind. 

The  banquet  hall  at  Kinsley's  was  a  very  large  room. 
What  its  dimensions  were  I  do  not  know,  but  it  cannot 
have  been  much  less  than  fifty  feet  wide  by  sixty  feet  in 
length.  The  first  meeting  that  we  held  in  it  is  notable  in 
the  annals  of  the  club.  It  was  one  never  to  be  forgotten 
by  any  of  the  fifty-two  members — six  of  whom  are  still 
living,  though  two  of  them  are  no  longer  members — who 
gathered  there  on  the  evening  of  May  6,  1886,  to  listen 
to  a  paper  by  Franklin  Harvey  Head.  Mr.  Head  was  then 
a  comparatively  new  member,  having  been  elected  on 

I    109   ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

November  29,  1884.  Though  he  had  at  once  entered  into 
the  spirit  of  the  club  and  had  become  a  constant  attendant 
at  the  meetings,  and  his  attractive  personal  quahties  had 
quickly  gained  for  him  popularity  and  had  endeared  him 
to  his  fellow  members,  his  literary  attainment  was  still  an 
unknown  quantity  when  he  began  to  read  his  exposition 
of  "Shakespeare's  Insomnia  and  the  Causes  Thereof." 
The  paper  opened  with  the  statement  that  "the  lack  of 
'tired  Nature's  sweet  restorer'  is  rapidly  becoming  the 
chronic  terror  of  all  men  of  active  life  who  have  passed 
the  age  of  thirty-five  or  forty  years."  Asserting  that  it 
was  the  fashion  to  attribute  this  to  the  high  pressure  of 
modern  life,  he  said,  "As  the  maxim  'there  is  nothing 
new  under  the  sun'  is  of  general  application,  it  may  be  of 
interest  to  investigate  if  an  exception  occurs  in  the  case 
of  sleeplessness;  if  it  be  true  that  among  our  ancestors, 
before  the  days  of  working  steam  and  electricity  the  glori- 
ous sleep  of  youth  was  prolonged  through  all  one's  three 
or  four  score  years."  Finding  no  answer  to  this  question 
in  the  medical  books  of  three  centuries  ago,  he  turned  to 
Shakespeare's  dramas  for  light  upon  it,  as,  he  remarked, 
"we  would  upon  any  other  question"  of  the  poet's  time. 
Then,  having  cited  Dr.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  to  prove 
that  "no  man  writes  other  than  his  own  experience;  that 
consciously  or  otherwise  an  author  describes  himself  in 
the  characters  he  draws,"  he  went  on  to  say  that,  as 
Shakespeare's  dramas  are  "the  book  of  human  life,  .  .  . 
if  insomnia  had  prevailed  in  or  before  his  time,  in  his  pages 
we  shall  find  it  duly  set  forth.  If  he  had  suffered,  if  the 
'fringed  curtains  of  his  eyes  were  all  the  night  withdrawn,' 
we  shall  find  his  dreary  experiences — his  hours  of  pathetic 

[   no  ] 


Head's  "Shakkspeark's  Insomnia" 

misery,  his  nights  of  desolation — voiced  hy  the  tongues 
of  his  men  and  women."  Following  up  this  thought  he 
proceeded  to  demonstrate  hy  copious  quotations  that 
"no  other  author  has  written  so  feelingly,  so  apprc- 
ciatingly  as  Shakespeare  on  the  subject  of  sleep  and  its 
loss,"  or  has  made  it  more  plain  that  broken  rest  comes 
more  often  from  care  and  anxiety  than  from  physical  ail- 
ment. The  conclusion  Mr.  Head  drew  from  this  was  that 
Shakespeare  wrote,  "not  'as  imagination  bodies  forth  the 
formes  of  things  unknown,'  but  as  one  who,  in  words  burn- 
ing with  indestructible  life,  lays  open  to  us  the  sombre 
record  of  what  was  experience  before  it  was  song." 

In  form  this  first  third  of  the  paper  was  that  oi  a 
critical  essay,  not  in  any  way  suggesting  that  its  import 
was  other  than  serious,  despite  the  introduction  of  an 
occasional  fantastic  phrase  such  as  "words  burning  with 
indestructible  life"  which  I  have  just  quoted.  Nor  was  the 
impression  at  once  dispelled  when  the  author  gravely 
said  it  had  occurred  to  him  that  the  Southampton  Manu- 
scripts in  the  British  Museum,  a  series  of  papers  recently 
discovered  and  not  yet  published,  might  make  it  possible 
to  determine  the  causes  of  Shakespeare's  suffering  from 
loss  of  sleep,  notwithstanding  the  meagerness  of  the 
information  respecting  his  life  and  habits  that  had  come 
down  to  us.  But,  when  he  read  what  purported  to  be  a 
letter  from  the  chief  curator  of  the  Department  of  Manu- 
scripts in  the  British  Museum,  stating  that  none  of  the 
papers  in  the  Southampton  Shakespeare  Collection  could 
be  loaned,  as  to  let  them  go  out  of  their  charge  would  be 
contrary  to  the  regulations  of  the  Museum,  but  copies 
of  the  papers  which  were  "principally  letters  written  to 

1  III  J 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

Shakespeare  by  various  people,  and  which  after  his  death 
in  some  way  came  into  the  possession  of  the  Earl  of 
Southampton"  could  be  had  for  £3-35,  exclusive  of  pos- 
tage, the  real  character  of  the  missive  began  to  dawn 
upon  his  listeners.  And,  when  the  name  of  the  signer, 
"John  Barnacle,  loth  Ass't  Sub-Secretary,"  was  read, 
they  began  to  titter,  and  then  broke  into  open  laughter 
as  it  flashed  upon  their  consciousness  that  they  were 
being  regaled  with  an  exceptionally  clever  literary  skit. 
The  suddenness  of  the  change  from  gravity  to  gayety 
was  one  of  the  most  sensational  transitions  that  I  can 
recall.  It  made  a  deep  impression  upon  every  one  present. 
From  that  moment  Mr.  Head's  reputation  as  a  writer 
was  made  so  far  as  the  club  members  were  concerned. 
The  first  part  of  the  paper  had  commanded  interested 
attention.  The  remainder  was  received  with  abundant 
evidence  of  keen  appreciation  and  enjoyment.  The  ficti- 
tious letters  purporting  to  be  from  lawyers  pressing  the 
bard  for  the  payment  of  an  overdue  bill;  from  a  pawn- 
broker warning  him  that,  unless  certain  pledged  property 
were  redeemed  forthwith  the  town  crier  would  notify  the 
sale  thereof;  from  a  broker  in  regard  to  a  loan  against 
stock  of  the  Globe  Theater  which  was  rapidly  declining 
in  market  value;  from  one  Mordecai  Shylock  notifying 
him  that  other  shares  of  Globe  Theater  stock  pledged  to 
him  as  collateral  had  been  sold  but  as  the  proceeds  had 
not  sufficed  to  discharge  the  debt,  he  made  demand  for 
the  payment  of  the  balance;  from  the  business  manager 
of  the  theater  reciting  dissensions  among  the  actors  and 
supes;  from  a  clergyman  from  Stratford-upon-Avon; 
from  Coke  and  Dogberry,  solicitors  for  Mistress  Anne 

[  112  ] 


FRANKLIN     H  A  R  V  E  V    H  K  A  D 


Head's  "Shakespeare's  Insomnia" 

Page,  threatening  an  action  for  breach  of  promise  of 
marriage;  and  from  Sir  Walter  Raleigh — all  couched  in 
the  phraseology  of  the  early  seventeenth  century — were 
highly  relished  and  their  fame  was  soon  spread  abroad. 
Although  the  sequel  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  club, 
the  tale  would  not  be  complete  without  here  recording 
that  in  response  to  many  requests  for  copies  of  the  paper, 
Mr.  Head  had  it  printed  tor  private  distribution.  The 
recipients  were  so  delighted  with  it  that  it  soon  became 
widely  known,  and  thus  it  was  brought  to  the  attention 
of  Messrs.  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  who  persuaded  Mr. 
Head  to  let  them  publish  it,  which  they  did  in  1887,  in 
association  with  the  Chicago  firm,  S.  A.  Maxwell  &  Co, 
issuing  an  edition  of  1000  copies  which,  to  quote  from  the 
announcement  circular,  contained  "an  additional  letter 
bearing  on  a  very  important  controversy,  being  from  Lord 
Bacon  to  Shakespeare,  serving  to  throw  light  on  the 
relationship  between  these  two  great  contemporaries  and 
the  real  author  of  the  plays."  Then  the  amazing  thing 
happened.  Not  only  one,  but  many  reviewers  took  the 
little  brochure  to  be  a  serious  and  important  contribution 
to  Shakespearean  literature.  Few  of  them,  if  any,  sus- 
pected its  true  character;  nor  did  literary  men  from  all 
over  the  world,  some  of  them  scholars  of  eminence  who 
were  attracted  to  the  book  by  the  favorable  reviews  and 
by  Dr.  O.  W.  Nixon's  glowing  editorial  printed  in  The 
Inter  Ocean  in  which  he  expatiated  on  the  strikes  in  the 
theater.  Greatly  excited  by  the  discovery  of  such  treas- 
ure-trove, many  of  them  wrote  Mr.  Head  most  enthusi- 
astic letters,  congratulating  him  upon  his  remarkable  find, 
his  acumen  in  making  the  discovery,  and  his  charming 

I    11^    1 


T:-:^  Chicago  Literary  Club 

presentation  ot  it.  Incidentally  most  ot  them  pressed  him 
for  further  information.  In  the  course  ot  time  it  is  to  be 
presumed  that  the  truth  began  to  dawn  upon  them.  Yet 
such  letters  continued  to  reach  Mr.  Head  for  more  than 
two  years  after  the  book  was  first  published.  Once,  in  the 
early  nineties,  when  I  called  upon  him  at  his  office,  he 
oj>ened  a  large  drawer  in  his  desk  and  showed  me  some 
hundreds  of  them.  The  drawer  was  literally  crammed  full. 
"What  do  you  suppose  the  writers  of  these  letters  think 
of  me?"  he  asked.  Answering  the  question  himself,  he  then 
remarked:  "I  imagine  they  regard  me  as  lacking  in  ordi- 
nary courtesy.  And  vet,  how  could  I  answer  any  of 
them?" 

Besides  the  meeting  when  Mr.  Head  was  the  enter- 
tainer, six  more  were  held  at  Kinsley's  before  the  season 
of  1885— 1886  came  to  an  end.  At  its  close  the  resident 
members  numbered  one  hundred  and  ninety-eight.  One 
of  these,  Lieut.  General  Philip  H.  Sheridan,  was  an  honor- 
ary member,  the  others  we  then  designated  as  "regulars." 


[    "4   ] 


Chapter  VIII 


THE  season  of  1886-1887,  when  our  meetings  were 
held  at  Kinsley's  or  at  the  Union  League  Club, 
was  marked  by  few  noteworthy  events.  The  honor 
of  the  presidency  for  that  season  had  been  bestowed  upon 
General  Alexander  C.  McClurg.  The  choice  was  a  most 
fitting  one.  Among  all  of  our  number  there  was  no  one 
who  better  merited  the  distinction.  In  the  best  sense  of 
the  phrase  he  was  a  polished  gentleman.  He  was  digni- 
fied in  his  bearing,  loyal,  mod  est,  unassuming,  and  always 
courteous  in  his  manner;  upright  in  thought,  word,  and 
deed,  loyal  to  his  friends  of  whom  he  had  a  host,  and 
deeply  attached  to  the  club  of  which  he  was  one  of  the 
oldest  members,  having  been  elected  at  its  first  regular 
meeting,  on  March  31,  1874.  His  military  record  in  the 
Civil  War  had  been  a  brilliant  one  and  had  gained  for 
him  the  brevets  of  colonel  for  "efficient  and  meritorious 
services"  and  of  brigadier  general  "for  gallant  and 
meritorious  services  during  the  war."  Though  small  in 
stature  and  never  physically  strong,  he  always  "looked  the 
soldier,"  and  Generals  Sherman,  Thomas,  Mitchell  and 
Baird  all  advised  him  to  make  arms  his  profession.  Dis- 
regarding this,  when  the  war  was  over  he  returned  to 
Chicago  where  he  became  the  leading  bookseller  and 
publisher,  and  as  such  was  a  prominent  figure  in  the 
intellectual  life  of  the  city.  What  the  club  meant  to  him 
is  well  shown  by  a  few  paragraphs  which  I  quote  from 
his  inaugural  address  as  president. 

[  115  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

After  thanking  the  members  for  the  honor  that  had 
been  conferred  upon  him  he  said:  "Not  easily  could  any 
compliment  come  to  me  which  I  should  appreciate  more 
highly.  It  is  here  in  this  club  that  my  best  thoughts  and 
sympathies  are  drawn  out;  and  here  my  best  and  most 
trusted  friends  are  found.  While  our  club  is  not  yet, 
perhaps,  as  no  other  club  has  ever  been,  the  ideal  club, 
it  is,  I  believe,  heading  fairly  and  strongly  in  the  right 
direction. 

"In  no  age  of  the  world  and  in  no  city  have  those  who 
loved  books  and  letters,  who  had  some  desire  to  turn  to 
'plain  living  and  thinking,'  who  would  at  least  in  some 
degree  'live  in  the  spirit' — -in  no  age  and  in  no  country 
have  these  been  in  the  majority;  they  have  ever  been  the 
remnant;  and  it  is  not,  therefore,  a  special  condemnation 
of  Chicago  that  most  of  our  citizens  are  occupied  with 
other  thoughts  and  pursue  other  ends. 

"The  falser  lights  of  wealth,  power,  and  display  are 
perhaps  not  more  eagerly  pursued  here  than  they  have 
been  elsewhere,  but  they  are  far  too  eagerly  pursued,  and 
it  is  well  for  all  of  us  that  we  have  one  organized  band 
whose  object  it  is  to  foster  the  higher  and  better  side  of 
our  everyday  life  —  one  club  which,  without  regard  to 
wealth,  or  so-called  social  standing,  seeks  for  its  member- 
ship men  of  intellectual  and  moral  culture — one  place 
where  we  are  sure  to  meet  others  who  sympathize  with 
our  best  impulses  and  our  best  aspirations;  and  where  by 
association  and  companionship  these  impulses  and  aspi- 
rations may  be  cherished  and  strengthened." 

The  meetings  held  during  General  McClurg's  term  of 
office  were  on  the  whole  well  attended,  but  the  lack  of 

[   ii6  ] 


oo 

oo 


Two  Notable  Mkktings 


what  I  may  call  a  home  atmosphere  was  felt  by  us  all,  and 
toward  the  end  of  the  season  the  letting  down  in  enthusi- 
asm began  to  be  quite  apparent.  Two  only  of  the  meet- 
ings ot  this  season  call  for  special  mention  in  this  chronicle. 
On  November  26,  1886,  Frederic  W.  Root  read  a  paper 
entitled  "An  American  Basis  of  Musical  Criticism."  This 
was  the  first  of  his  remarkable  and  exceptionally  clever 
expositions  of  musical  expression  and  structure,  enlivened 
by  deft  touches  ot  humor  and  made  clear  by  instrumental 
and  vocal  illustration  so  simplified  as  to  be  readily  grasped 
by  any  ordinarily  intelligent  person  however  lacking  in 
knowledge  of  musical  composition.  The  forty-seven  mem- 
bers who  listened  to  the  paper  were  greatly  delighted  by 
it  and  were  not  backward  in  extolling  it  to  others.  Thence- 
forward Mr.  Root's  popularity  among  us  as  an  entertainer 
was  assured,  and  we  were  always  happy  when  he  could  be 
persuaded  to  take  a  place  upon  the  programme. 

At  the  ladies'  night  meeting,  held  on  January  31, 
1887,  one  hundred  members  accompanied  by  one  hundred 
and  seventeen  lady  guests  assembled  to  listen  to  a  paper 
by  James  Norton.  The  fame  of  his  flashing  wit  made  every 
one  of  his  auditors  eagerly  expectant  and  the  title  of  his 
paper,  "The  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Devil,"  suggested  untold 
possibilities  of  amusingly  whimsical  treatment.  But  Nor- 
ton did  not  want  to  be  known  merely  as  a  humorist.  His 
paper  was  a  minute  and  careful  study  of  the  demon  myth 
in  its  various  manifestations  —  a  scholarly  performance 
entitled  to  serious  consideration.  Its  merit  was  appre- 
ciated. Nevertheless  there  was  disappointment.  Both 
members  and  guests  had  expected  to  hear  something 
quite  different.  This  was  the  only  meeting  which  one  ot 

[  117 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

our  members  who  joined  the  club  in  1876  ever  attended 
during  the  entire  period  of  thirty-nine  years  when  he 
was  on  the  resident  list.  I  have  sometimes  wondered 
whether  he  would  have  been  tempted  to  favor  us  with 
his  presence  at  other  meetings  had  Norton  diverted  us 
on. this  occasion  with  the  pungent  wit  of  which  he  was 
so  capable. 

At  the  business  meeting  held  on  June  14,  1886,  the 
executive  committee  was  instructed  to  take  steps  to  have 
the  club  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of 
Illinois  providing  for  the  incorporation  of  societies  not 
for  profit.  This  instruction  was  carried  out  with  as  little 
delay  as  possible.  The  certificate  of  incorporation  was 
issued  by  the  secretary  of  state  on  July  10,  1886,  and 
on  August  3  it  was  duly  recorded  in  the  office  of  the 
recorder  of  Cook  County.  At  the  meeting  held  on  March 
2,8,  1887,  the  corporate  organization  was  completed  by 
the  election  of  all  the  members  of  the  several  classes  in 
the  voluntary  association,  to  full  membership  in  corre- 
sponding classes  in  the  corporation  of  the  same  name 
and  a  code  of  by-laws  was  adopted.  The  annual  dues 
were  raised  to  thirty  dollars  and  it  was  provided  that 
new  members  should  pay  an  entrance  fee  of  twenty-five 
dollars.  Then,  as  Bryan  Lathrop,  the  chairman  of  the 
committee  of  rooms  and  finance,  had  reported  that  ap- 
proxiiTiately  five  thousand  dollars  would  be  required  to 
pay  for  the  furnishing  and  fitting  up  of  the  new  rooms  in 
the  Art  Institute  Building,  the  directors  were  author- 
ized to  borrow  that  sum  upon  bonds  to  be  issued  by  the 
club,  to  bear  six  per  cent  interest  and  to  run  for  ten  years, 
but  to  be  subject  to  call  after  one  year.  These  bonds  were 

[  118  ] 


Dr.  Noyes  Elected  President 

readily  placed  with  members  of  the  club  and  were  all 
redeemed  or  presented  to  the  club  by  the  holders  before 
their  maturity. 

The  season  ended  with  the  meeting  held  on  June  13, 
1887,  when  the  Rev.  George  Clement  Noyes,  D.I).,  was 
elected  president  for  the  ensuing  year.  Fifteen  members 
were  admitted  during  the  season,  among  them  Arthur 
Dana  Wheeler  and  Pliny  Bent  Smith  who  for  twenty-five 
years  thereafter  belonged  to  the  little  coterie  of  faithful 
ones  who  never  missed  a  meeting  if  they  could  help  it. 
And  greatly  to  our  grief  one  of  our  earl  y  members,  George 
Clinton  Clarke,  was  taken  from  us  by  death  after  a  pro- 
tracted illness. 

During  the  summer  of  1887  the  rooms  in  the  Art 
Institute  Building  were  made  ready  for  occupancy  and 
the  first  meeting  held  in  them  was  the  annual  reunion 
and  dinner,  on  October  10.  The  number  of  members,  one 
hundred  and  fifteen,  who  attended  this  meeting,  is  the 
largest  in  the  history  of  the  club.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  no  copy  of  President  Noyes'  inaugural  address  has 
been  preserved,  either  in  the  club's  archives  or  upon  its 
records.  Few  of  the  men  whom  we  have  admitted  to  our 
circle  have  taken  such  firm  hold  upon  the  affection  and 
esteem  of  their  fellow  members  in  such  a  short  time  as 
did  Dr.  Noyes.  As  I  try  to  call  him  up  before  my  retro- 
spective vision,  the  salient  traits  that  seem  to  stand  forth 
are  his  bigness  of  mind  and  heart,  his  freedom  from  bias 
and  from  everything  petty  or  mean,  but  above  all  his 
magnetic  personality,  his  unfailing  good  nature  and  the 
quick  and  intelligent  sympathy  that  enabled  him  to  com- 
prehend and  enter  into  other  people's  point  of  view  and  to 

I  iiy  1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

share  their  feelings.  Such  a  man  could  not  help  making  a 
deep  and  abiding  impression  upon  all  who  were  privileged 
to  know  him  and  to  realize  the  truth  and  sincerity  that 
were  the  foundations  of  his  character. 

The  season  of  1887-1888  when  Dr.  Noyes  presided  at 
our  meetings  is  notable  for  the  marked  renewal  of  interest 
in  the  club  that  was  manifested.  In  point  of  the  attend- 
ance it  was  the  banner  year  of  the  first  fifty  of  the  club's 
history.  The  average  number  of  members  present  at  each 
of  the  thirty-five  meetings  was  sixty.  As  the  number  of 
resident  members  on  the  roll  at  the  close  of  the  season 
was  two  hundred  and  thirteen,  and  the  rooms  were  in  a 
location  far  less  conveniently  accessible  than  it  is  today, 
the  average  for  meetings  held  as  often  as  one  every  week 
during  eight  months  of  the  year  is  certainly  remarkable. 
Without  doubt  the  attractiveness  of  the  new  rooms  and 
the  fact  that  we  had  been  without  a  home  for  seventeen 
months  did  much  to  stimulate  the  attendance.  A  descrip- 
tion of  the  rooms  that  was  printed  in  one  of  our  evening 
newspapers  on  the  day  after  we  took  possession  will,  I 
think,  be  found  entertaining. 

"The  Chicago  Literary  Society  opened  its  new  rooms 
last  night  with  a  reception."  This  sentence,  it  will  be 
noted,  contains  two  errors.  *'The  rooms  are  situated  in 
the  third  story  of  the  Art  Institute  Building  on  the  corner 
of  Michigan  Avenue  and  Van  Buren  Street  and  are  mar- 
vels of  beauty  and  tastefulness.  They  occupy  the  whole 
of  the  third  floor.  At  the  right  as  one  enters  the  hallway 
is  situated  the  dining  room,  and  on  the  left  the  directors' 
room.  The  dining  room  is  a  remarkably  handsome  one, 
the  decorations  being  terra-cotta  hand-painted.  The  floor 

[    120  ] 


\ 


I 


CO 

oo 


kTHjJW-.  !.«*;«' 


A  Newspaper  "Write— up" 


is  ot  hardwood.  At  tlie  end  of  the  hall  is  the  large  recep- 
tion room,  elegantly  furnished  and  finished,  and  ofFof  that 
opens  the  assembly  room  which  is  the  largest  of  all  and 
was  last  night  used  as  a  banquet  hall.  The  reception  room 
is  light  gray  and  is  also  hand-painted.  About  two  hundred 
persons  were  in  attendance  last  evening  and"  (note  this) 
"//;('  principal  feature  of  the  program  was  the  banquet." 

The  reporter  who  produced  this  masterpiece  of  mis- 
statement must  have  written  it  after  interviewing  the 
genial  colored  man  who  had  been  employed  to  take  care 
of  the  rooms,  and  who  probably  permitted  him  to  make  a 
hasty  inspection  of  the  premises  when  no  members  were 
present.  Then  as  now  the  club  used  every  possible  effort 
to  keep  out  of  the  newspapers.  As  a  rule  it  has  been  suc- 
cessful, but  some  "write-ups"  could  not  be  avoided.  The 
mistakes  in  the  notice  from  which  the  quotations  have 
been  made  are  merely  laughable. 

Let  me  now  tell  what  the  rooms  were  really  like.  The 
doorway  through  which  the  rooms  were  entered  from  the 
elevator  hall  opened  upon  a  corridor  running  north  and 
south.  At  the  left  was  a  coat  room,  and  beyond  that  a 
small  committee  room.  At  the  right  was  the  supper  room. 
This  was  situated  on  the  Michigan  Avenue  front  of  the 
building.  Its  axis  was  north  and  south.  At  the  south  end 
a  storage  room  and  serving  pantry  were  partitioned  off, 
and  at  the  north  end  there  was  another  storage  closet, 
and  at  its  right,  a  doorway  that  led  into  the  reading  room, 
a  spacious  apartment  on  the  Van  Buren  Street  front, 
extending  from  the  Michigan  Avenue  corner  west  to 
where  it  opened  through  a  wide  portal  into  the  commo- 
dious assembly  hall.  The  latter  room  extended  across  the 

[  HI  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

west  end  of  the  building,  had  a  large  stone  fire-place  in 
the  middle  of  the  west  wall,  and  at  the  south  end  of  the 
east  wall  a  door  opening  into  the  committee  room.  The 
reader's  platform  was  usually  placed  against  the  south 
wall.  All  of  the  rooms  were  lofty  and  were  well  ventilated. 
They  were  very  simply  decorated.  The  walls  of  the  din- 
ing room  were  tinted  a  dull  Venetian  red,  with  a  slight 
stenciled  border  in  a  darker  tone  of  the  same.  That  was 
what  the  reporter  called  "terra-cotta  hand-painted." 

At  its  north  end  the  entrance  corridor  opened  into  the 
reading  room  near  its  west  end.  The  carpets  and  window 
curtains  in  this  room  were  dark  red.  The  walls  were 
tinted  a  neutral  gray.  Besides  the  large  round  table 
which  was  placed  near  the  eastern  end  of  the  room  and 
covered  with  periodicals,  there  was  a  plentiful  supply  of 
comfortable  chairs  and  cushioned  benches  attached  to 
the  north  and  west  walls.  The  cushions  for  these  benches 
were  covered  with  very  dark  green  corduroy.  The  bench 
on  the  north  wall  directly  opposite  the  doorway  from  the 
corridor  was  a  favorite  gathering  place  for  a  group  of 
the  regular  attendants.  Of  these  George  Rowland  was 
usually  the  first  to  arrive.  As  a  rule  he  would  soon  be 
joined  by  Henry  T.  Steele,  Samuel  Bliss,  Philander  Prud- 
den,  Pliny  Smith,  Homer  N.  Hibbard,  George  P.  Welles, 
and  others  until  so  many  came  that  they  separated  into 
several  smaller  groups.  As  I  bring  the  scene  before  my 
mind's  eye,  I  seem  to  see  Edward  Mason  saunter  in. 
Then  Colonel  Huntington  W.  Jackson  comes  into  sight, 
erect  in  bearing,  quickly  followed  by  vivacious  Major 
Joseph  Kirkland  and  the  tall  spare  figure  of  James  L. 
High.  Before  they  have  greeted  the  first  comers  I  hear  the 

[    122    ] 


A  Distinguished  Company 


incisive  tones  of  Dr.  Nevins  Hyde's  pleasantly  resonant 
voice  as  he  enters,  talking  to  Bishop  Cheney  who  walks 
beside  him.  Dr.  Hosmer  A.  Johnson  and  William  K. 
Ackerman  are  only  a  few  feet  behind  them.  Horatio  Wait, 
Dr.  William  F.  Poole  and  Henry  D.  Lloyd  are  the  next 
comers;  then  General  McClurg,  Franklin  MacVeagh, 
Norman  Williams,  Franklin  Head,  Bryan  Lathrop,  David 
Swing,  James  Norton,  President  Noyes,  and  James  A. 
Hunt  arrive  together.  For  a  minute  or  two  no  one  else 
appears.  Then  the  portly  figure  of  John  Crerar  is  seen  as 
he  reaches  the  doorway  and  pauses  for  a  moment,  his 
broad  countenance  overspread  by  a  smile  as  he  greets 
the  assembled  members,  and  steps  forward  to  drop  into 
a  chair,  giving  the  lapel  of  his  coat  as  he  does  so  a  char- 
acteristic flip  that  spreads  it  wide  and  throws  it  partly 
across  his  left  shoulder.  In  quick  succession  other  well- 
known  figures  now  stream  in.  William  Eliot  Furness,  Dr. 
Charles  Gordon  Fuller,  and  Melville  W.  Fuller  are  in  the 
van.  Then  I  see  Dr.  Clinton  Locke  and  hear  his  hearty 
laugh,  then  Frank  Gilbert,  Clarence  Burley,  Rev.  Dr. 
Arthur  Little,  Eliphalet  W.  Blatchford,  Judge  Brown, 
Walter  Larned,  John  W.  Root,  Frederick  Greeley,  Rev. 
J.  Coleman  Adams,  Dr.  Emil  G.  Hirsch,  Lewis  H.  and 
Henry  Sherman  Boutell,  William  H.  Ray,  Charles  L. 
Hutchinson  and  Charles  S.  Holt.  A  few  minutes  later 
Elbridge  Keith,  Moses  Scudder,  Daniel  Goodwin,  Nor- 
man Fay  and  Dr.  Charles  Gilman  Smith  come,  followed 
by  others  whom  I  fail  to  note,  for  the  president  is  pound- 
ing his  gavel  as  a  signal  for  us  to  file  into  the  assembly 
room  where  a  literary  feast  awaits  us,  for  tonight  we  are 
to  have  the  pleasure  of  listening  to  a  delectable  paper 

I  ^23 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

by  Professor  Swing  read  as  only  he  can  read,  quietly, 
slowly,  and  with  such  carefully  modulated  cadence  that 
the  beauty  of  every  word  and  every  incisive  phrase  will 
be  fully  brought  out. 

Although  many  excellent  papers  were  read  during  this 
season,  only  a  few  of  the  meetings  need  be  singled  out  for 
special  mention.  Three  ladies'  night  meetings  were  held. 
At  the  first  of  them  David  Swing  read  a  paper  on  "The 
Greek  Literature";  at  the  second  Edward  G.  Mason  dis- 
coursed upon  "Two  Men  of  Letters:  Edmund  Spenser 
and  Sir  Walter  Raleigh";  at  the  third  one  hundred  and 
six  members  and  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  guests  listened 
to  a  brilliant  paper  on  "Jack  Cade"  by  Melville  W.  Fuller, 
which  James  Norton  facetiously  referred  to  afterward 
as  "one  of  our  little  compositions."  Besides  these  papers 
several  others  attracted  so  much  attention  when  they 
were  read  that  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  recall  them  to 
memory.  James  Norton's  "Some  Proposed  Rules  for  the 
Regulation  of  Story-tellers"  scored  such  a  hit  that  it  is 
regrettable  that  it  was  not  included  in  the  memorial  vol- 
ume of  his  "Addresses  and  Fragments  in  Prose  and 
Verse"  published  shortly  after  his  death  in  1896.  Those 
of  us  who  heard  "The  Philosophy  of  Fashion"  as  ex- 
pounded by  Dr.  Emil  Hirsch,  or  "A  Business  View  of 
Classical  Studies"  by  Franklin  MacVeagh,  "Broad  Art 
Criticism"  by  John  W.  Root,  or  Dr.  Hyde's  "Some  Conse- 
quences of  Eating  Historical  Strawberries"  will  readily 
recall  the  reception  they  received. 

In  connection  with  a  paper  on  "The  Old  Masters  of 
Japan"  read  on  January  16,  1888,  by  the  writer  of  this 
history,  an  exhibition  of  paintings  by  eminent  Japanese 

[    124  ] 


REVEREND    DAVID    SWING 


Another  "Write-up" 


artists  of  the  fifteenth,  sixteenth,  seventeenth,  eighteenth, 
and  nineteenth  centuries  was  made  in  the  club  rooms 
and  was  the  first  exhibition  of  such  paintings  ever  held 
in  America.  Through  the  courtesy  of  the  well-known 
connoisseur  Tadamasa  Hayashi,  then  a  resident  of  Paris, 
who  was  fortuitously  in  Chicago  at  the  time,  the  showing 
was  a  notable  one.  He  attended  the  meeting  as  the  writer's 
guest  and  kindly  lent  for  the  exhibition  pictures  by 
Sesshu,  Kano  Masanobu,  Kano  Motonobu,  KanoEitoku, 
and  other  renowned  masters.  But,  as  he  arrived  in  the 
city  only  two  days  before  the  meeting,  descriptions  of 
these  could  not  be  included  in  the  catalogue  which  had 
already  been  printed. 

At  the  meeting  held  on  the  following  Monday  Murry 
Nelson  led  a  Conversation  on  "The  Gangs  in  Politics." 
The  next  morning  the  members  were  greatly  surprised  to 
find  in  one  of  the  columns  of  The  Tribune  the  heading 
"Murry  Nelson  on  'Gangs  in  Politics,' "  and  the  sub- 
heading, "A  Discussion  of  the  Subject  by  the  Chicago 
Literary  Club."  This  was  followed  by  a  fairly  good  sum- 
mary of  Mr.  Nelson's  remarks,  which  it  was  said  "were 
chiefly  confined  to  the  Republican  party  as  he  said  he 
knew  more  about  Republican  gangs  than  he  did  of  those 
in  the  Democratic  party."  And  the  article  closed  with  the 
statement  that  "the  subject  was  fully  discussed  by  mem- 
bers present  who  seemed  to  agree  generally  with  Mr. 
Nelson's  presentment  of  the  case."  As  no  reporter  had 
attended  the  meeting,  this  notice  caused  much  speculation 
and  adverse  comment  in  the  club,  and  at  the  next  meeting 
a  resolution  proposed  by  Henry  D.  Lloyd,  then  or  recently 
one  of  the  editors  of  I'he  Tribune,  was  adopted,  stating 

I   i^-5  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

"that  it  is  the  sense  of  the  club  that  the  members  be 
cautioned  not  to  communicate  its  proceedings  to  the 
press."  For  a  time,  however,  the  city  editors  of  several 
newspapers  made  attempts  to  have  our  proceedings 
reported,  and  we  frequently  had  to  turn  from  our  doors 
reporters  who  had  been  detailed  to  attend  our  meetings. 

A  few  months  later  David  Swing  contributed  an 
article  on  "Literary  Clubs"  to  one  of  our  dailies.  In  it  he 
said  there  were  "probably  fifty  of  these  societies"  in 
Chicago,  and  he  described  several  of  them,  but  his  refer- 
ence to  our  organization  was  very  brief — only  this:  "In 
importance  and  dignity  the  Chicago  Literary  Club  and 
the  Fortnightly  stand  at  the  head  of  the  invisible  pro- 
cession—  the  latter  being  a  woman's  society."  The  author 
of  the  article  on  the  "Chicago  Literary  Club:  an  Institu- 
tion that  Enrolls  a  Large  Number  of  Brilliant  Writers," 
that  was  printed  in  The  Chicago  Evening  Journal  on  Sat- 
urday,October  27, 1888,  was  not  named,  but  it  is  generally 
understood  that  it  was  written  by  Miss  Caroline  Kirkland. 
Much  of  the  information  given  in  the  two  and  a  quarter 
columns  that  it  filled  must  have  been  supplied  by  some  of 
our  members.  It  was  quite  free  from  anything  objection- 
able, and  was  one  of  a  series  of  articles  on  prominent 
Chicago  clubs. 

In  November,  1887,  we  were  saddened  by  the  death 
of  James  St.  Clair  Boal;  and  in  January,  1888,  by  that  of 
General  John  Leverett  Thompson.  Both  of  them  were 
prominent  members,  and  men  of  the  highest  type,  per- 
sonally and  professionally.  By  his  agreeable  manner  and 
sincerity  Boal  has  won  many  warm  friendships  among 
his  fellow  members.  Thompson's  law  practice  was  too 

[    126  1 


A  Successful  Season 


engrossing  to  permit  him  to  come  to  our  meetings  as  often 
as  he  wished,  but  he  was  fond  of  the  club  and  he  came 
when  he  could.  He  was  an  eminent  lawyer  and  a  man  of 
fine  literary  taste.  In  the  Civil  War  he  had  distinguished 
himself  and  won  merited  honor.  I  cannot  let  this  mention 
of  him  pass  without  recounting  a  remarkable  incident  of 
his  military  career  in  which  he  displayed  intrepid  bravery 
and  resourcefulness.  Wishing  to  gain  a  better  view  of  the 
enemy's  line  he  ventured  into  a  little  outlying  wood  and 
came  upon  a  group  of  four  confederate  soldiers,  two  of 
whom  were  mounted.  The  mounted  men  called  upon  him 
to  surrender  and  asked  him  to  hand  over  the  handsome 
revolvers  that  he  carried.  Apparently  complying,  he  drew 
both  weapons,  one  in  each  hand,  fired  as  he  did  so,  drop- 
ping both  men  from  their  horses,  then  turning  quickly  he 
shot  one  of  the  infantry  men,  while  the  other  fled. 

Before  the  end  of  the  season  twenty  names  had  been 
aeided  to  our  membership.  Of  these  new  members  six 
only,  Rev.  Dr.  John  H.  Barrows,  Edward  I.  Galvin,  Rev. 
Dr.  Frank  W.  Gunsaulus,  George  H.  Holt,  David  B. 
Jones,  and  Rev.  Theodore  P.  Prudden,  ever  became 
active  participants  in  the  club  life.  Viewed  in  retrospect 
our  first  season  in  the  rooms  in  the  Art  Institute  stands 
out  as  one  of  the  most  successful  in  our  history.  The 
revival  of  the  club  spirit  was  marked.  It  was  a  contagious 
enthusiasm  that  spread  throughout  our  ranks;  and,  when 
in  June  adjournment  was  had  until  the  autumn,  there 
were  few  of  our  members  who  did  not  feel  with  greater 
intensity  than  before  that  nothing  the  city  had  to  offer 
was  more  uplifting  or  better  worth  while  than  the  fel- 
lowship of  the  Chicago  Literary  Club.  There  were  then 

[    '17  i 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


two  hundred  thirteen  names  on  the  resident  list.  And  at 
the  annual  election  held  on  June  i8,  James  Lambert 
High  was  chosen  president  for  the  ensuing  year. 


[    128   ] 


Chapter  IX 

THKsecontl  season  in  the  rooms  in  the  Art  Institute 
Building  opened  propitiously  on  October  i,  1888, 
with  the  annual  reunion  and  dinner.  One  hun- 
dred and  two  members  were  served  at  tables  spreatl  in 
the  assembly  room,  the  supper  room  which  was  not  large 
enough  to  accommodate  so  many  being  appropriated  for 
the  use  of  the  caterer.  President  High's  inaugural  address 
was  an  entertaining  one,  and,  as  was  then  customary,  it 
was  chiefly  given  over  to  club  affairs  and  reminiscences. 
As  the  early  custom  of  furnishing  copies  of  presidential 
addresses  to  be  recorded  or  placed  in  the  archives  of  the 
club  had  already  become  obsolete,  no  excerpts  from  it  can 
here  be  given.  Few  of  our  members  have  inspired  deeper 
aflection  than  did  James  Lambert  High.  It  is  difficult  so 
to  picture  him  in  words  as  to  call  up  the  image  that  must 
forever  remain  impressed  upon  the  minds  of  those  who 
knew  and  loved  him.  His  tall  thin  figure,  his  bearded 
face  with  its  always  gracious  yet  dignified  expression,  his 
gentle  bearing  and  unfailing  courtesy  were  the  outward 
manifestations  of  the  inner  man.  After  his  death,  Mrs. 
Ellen  K.  Hooker  in  whose  school  in  a  little  village  near 
Madison,  Wisconsin,  he  was  prepared  for  college,  wrote 
these  words  which  well  sum  up  the  qualities  that  gained 
for  him  the  respect  and  warm  regard  of  all  who  came  in 
contact  with  him: 

"That  the  manly  boy  who  thus  early  sought  instruc- 
tion in  studies  far  beyond  his  years  should  have  become 

[    129   ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

the  critical  scholar,  the  eminent  jurist  and  the  success- 
ful man  of  affairs,  is  no  matter  of  surprise  to  me.  .  .  . 
Earnest,  impetuous,  persistent,  often  self-confident,  his 
daily  mastery  of  himself  was  occasion  for  frequent  remark 
among  those  who  knew  him  best.  Never  have  I  seen  one 
more  prompt  to  acknowledge  and  correct  a  fault  when 
he  believed  it  to  be  his  own.  .  .  .  Gentleness,  courtesy, 
conformity  to  law,  reverence  for  truth,  all  combined  in 
him  to  form  such  a  character  as  man  may  covet  and  God 
approve." 

Mr.  High's  professional  attainments  as  a  lawyer  are 
set  forth  in  the  memorial  biography  printed  by  the  club 
and  need  not  be  recited  here.  But,  as  is  well  said  in  that 
biography: 

"James  L.  High,  the  man,  was  greater  far  than  James 
L.  High,  the  lawyer.  .  .  .  What  he  was  but  few  were 
privileged  to  know.  What  he  did  is  a  common  possession. 
His  activities  found  expression  in  a  great  contribution  to 
the  literature  of  his  profession  and  in  an  active  career 
that  will  remain  a  cherished  tradition  of  the  Chicago  bar. 
All  this,  however,  is  apart  from  what  he  was.  The  mem- 
ory of  his  rare  personality  and  noble  character  is  the 
precious  possession  of  his  family  and  friends." 

To  this  it  may  be  added  that  it  is  also  a  precious  pos- 
session of  the  Chicago  Literary  Club  to  which  he  was 
strongly  attached  and  of  which  he  was  intimately  a  part 
so  long  as  he  lived. 

The  year  of  Mr.  High's  administration  was  not  marked 
by  any  notable  occurrences.  The  literary  feast  was  an  ex- 
cellent one,  and  there  were  two  ladies'  nights  when  papers 
were  read  by  Dr.  Frank  H.  Gunsaulus  and  Franklin  H. 

[    130  ] 


A  Tribute  to  Dr.  Noyks 


Head.  And  in  response  to  the  suggestion  of  Horatio  L. 
Wait,  a  beginning  was  made  in  forming  a  collection  of 
books  and  pamphlets  written  by  memi^ers  of  the  club. 
Among  the  fifteen  members  elected  during  the  year  were 
several  who  became  actively  identified  with  our  organi- 
zation. Three  are  still  with  us,  Dr.  William  T.  Belheld, 
Irving  K.  Pond,  and  Denton  J.  Snider.  Others  who  should 
be  mentioned  are  Lewis  H.  Boutell  and  George  Driggs; 
and,  although  to  our  regret  they  terminated  their  mem- 
bership by  resigning  some  years  later,  so  also  should 
George  K.  Dauchy,  Dr.  Nathan  S.  Davis  Jr.,  Allen  B. 
Pond,  Lorado  Taft,  and  Abram  Van  Epps  Young. 

In  January,  1889,  the  club  suffered  a  severe  bereave- 
ment in  the  death  of  Rev.  Dr.  George  C.  Noyes,  which  was 
deeply  felt  by  our  members.  He  had  been  elected  less  than 
six  years  before,  but  in  that  time  had  made  an  enviable 
place  for  himself  in  their  affectionate  regard.  As  was  said 
by  Dr.  William  F.  Poole  in  the  memorial  spread  upon  the 
records  of  the  club : 

^'Perhaps  no  member  ever  more  keenly  enjoyed  the 
privilege  of  social  intercourse  with  its  members  and  of 
contributing  to  its  literary  exercises.  He  never  missed  a 
meeting  when  it  was  possible  for  him  to  be  present.  His 
broad  catholic  spirit,  his  genial  manners  and  joyous  warm 
sensibilities  made  him  a  universal  favorite  in  the  club.  In 
whatever  circle  he  was,  there  were  happy  faces,  animated 
conversation,  the  humorous  assault,  the  sharp  repartee, 
and  much  sportive  laughter.  Every  one  felt  that  he  was 
a  true  friend  and  a  safe  counselor.  He  enjoyed  humor,  he 
loved  music,  painting  and  sculpture,  he  loved  his  friends 
and  would  go  far  out  of  his  way  to  serve  them." 

[  131 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

For  the  next  club  year,  that  of  1889-1890,  Dr.  James 
Nevins  Hyde,  the  ever  genial  comrade  of  whom  every 
member  was  fond,  was  elected  president.  It  is  especially 
regrettable  that  his  inaugural  address  which  abounded 
in  witty  sallies  has  not  been  preserved.  He  was  a  firm 
believer  in  the  importance  of  injecting  the  element  of 
wholesome  fun  into  the  literary  work  of  the  year,  always 
provided  that  it  should  be  of  a  high  order.  In  recognition 
of  this,  his  address  contained  much  that  his  hearers  found 
highly  entertaining.  Alas,  not  even  its  title,  if  it  had  one, 
has  been  preserved.  But  the  theme  v^as  The  Club  and 
cognate  matters.  At  the  annual  reunion  and  dinner  one 
hundred  and  one  members  were  present,  and  one  guest, 
Mr.  Frederick  Cope  Whitehouse  of  London.  When  Dr. 
Hyde  asked  Mr.  Whitehouse  who,  as  a  son  of  Bishop 
Whitehouse,  had  spent  his  boyhood  in  Chicago,  to  say  a 
few  words,  he  responded  with  an  after-dinner  speech 
which  he  said  he  had  prepared  for  another  occasion  but 
had  not  delivered.  Strange  as  it  may  seem  it  was  not  only 
felicitous  in  expression  but  as  well  suited  to  the  time  and 
place  as  though  it  had  been  designed  for  it  instead  of 
for  a  gathering  in  London,  and  it  was  accordingly  given 
much  applause. 

One  familiar  face  was  sadly  missed  at  this  dinner,  that 
of  John  Crerar.  At  the  next  meeting  the  announcement 
of  his  death  brought  sadness  to  the  hearts  of  all.  Reali- 
zation was  very  keen  that  without  his  cheery  presence 
our  meetings  could  never  be  quite  the  same.  At  the  ladies' 
night  held  a  month  later,  when  Frederic  Root  read  a 
paper  entitled  "A  Study  of  Musical  Taste,"  a  memorial 
of  Mr.  Crerar  was  read  by  Edward  G.  Mason.  It  expresses 

[    132   ] 


In  Mkmory  of  )ohn  Crkrar 


so  feelingly  the  relation  of  Mr.  Crerar  to  the  club  and 
the  regard  of  the  members  for  him  that,  as  it  has  not 
heretofore  been  printed,  it  is  fitting  that  it  should  find  a 
place  here. 

"In  many  ways  respect  antl  esteem  hav^e  been  shown 
for  the  man  whose  name  is  upon  every  tongue  and  in 
every  heart.  John  Crerar,  the  leading  merchant,  the  direc- 
tor in  great  corporations,  the  philanthropist,  the  strong 
pillar  of  the  church,  the  good  citizen,  has  been  most 
appropriately  honored  by  all  who  knew  him  in  these  re- 
lations. But  it  is  our  John  Crerar,  our  own  good  friend 
and  brother  of  whom  his  fellow  members  in  the  Chicago 
Literary  Club  wish  to  say  a  loving  word  tonight.  For  he 
belonged  to  our  organization  from  an  early  day,  he  is 
associated  with  each  of  its  places  of  assembly,  and  to  its 
meetings  which  he  attended  so  faithfully  and  enjoyed 
so  much,  he  ever  brought  good  fellow^ship  and  sunshine. 
His  dignified  bearing,  urbane  manner,  and  strong  indi- 
viduality always  made  his  presence  conspicuous  there. 
Those  who  used  to  meet  him  in  our  former  apartment 
in  Portland  Block  will  well  remember  the  familiar  figure 
in  that  seat  in  the  audience  room  which  he  so  regularly 
occupied.  And  how  readily  we  recall  him  as  he  used  to 
enter  these  rooms,  throwing  back  his  coat  with  that  char- 
acteristic gesture  as  he  came  forward  to  greet  you.  We 
see  his  kindly  face  lit  up  with  a  pleasant  smile,  the  gleam 
of  his  honest  blue  eyes,  and  his  courtly  bow.  We  feel  the 
warm  grasp  of  his  hand,  we  hear  his  hearty  laugh,  and 
we  repeat  the  cordial  welcome  which  was  always  his. 

"He  joined  our  club  in  the  second  year  of  its  existence 
and  from  that  time  on  his  influence  has  been  telt  in  its 

[    133   ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

affairs,  his  aid  and  counsel  have  never  been  wanting.  He 
advocated  the  change  to  better  quarters  which  was  the 
turning  point  in  its  history,  and  he  was  one  of  those  whose 
assistance  enabled  it  to  remove  to  its  present  home.  As 
chairman  of  our  committee  on  officers  and  members  he 
was  the  first  vice-president  of  our  club  in  1877  and  1878, 
and  more  than  once  was  spoken  of  for  its  presidency,  but 
modestly  declined  to  be  a  candidate.  His  name  appears 
upon  our  Scheme  of  Exercises  in  March,  1876,  in  May, 
1879,  and  in  February,  1881,  and  few  more  interesting 
papers  have  been  presented  at  our  meetings  than  that 
which  contained  his  reminiscences  of  Thackeray.  He 
made  the  acquaintance  of  the  great  author  in  connec- 
tion with  the  latter's  course  of  lectures  delivered  in  this 
country  under  the  auspices  of  the  Mercantile  Library 
Association  of  New  York,  of  which  Crerar  was  a  member. 
How  much  service  he  was  able  to  render  their  English 
visitor  and  what  a  warm  friendship  ensued  this  letter  from 
Thackeray  reveals. 

26  Onslow  Square,  Bromptont. 
London,  May  9th,  1856. 
My  Dear  Crerar: 

I  ran  away  in  such  a  hurry  from  New  York  that  I  forgot  to  shake 
your  hand — perhaps  purposely  forgot  —  for  it's  a  weary  task,  that 
taking  leave  of  good  fellows.  And  now  I  write  you  a  word  of  thanks 
and  farewell  from  my  own  house  which  looks  just  as  if  I'd  never  left 
it,  and,  but  that  the  leaves  are  bright  green  wh.  were  yellow  yester- 
day, I  might  fancy  that  I  had  dreamed  the  last  7  months.  Before  I 
came  off  I  told  Tiffany's  people  to  send  a  pencil  case  for  you  to  M. 
L.  iMercantile  Library]  and  pray  you  to  keep  it  as  a  memento  of  a 
friend  whom  you  have  very  much  obliged  and  who  will  always  re- 
member the  great  kindness  wh.  you  &  Felt  have  shown  him.  When 
you  come  to  England  mind  &  keep  my  address  in  your  recollection. 
I  shall  never  be  able  to  do  for  you  what  you  have  done  for  me,  but 

[  134  ] 


In  Memory  of  John  Crerar 


I  and  the  girls  whose  future  life  you  have  helped  to  make  comfort- 
able, propose  to  remember  for  many  a  long  day  the  cordial  welcome 
and  aid  you  gave  me. 
Believe  me 

Yours,  dear  Crerar,  always  sincerely, 

W.  M.Thackeray 

"This  letter  and  the  pencil  case  which  it  mentions  were 
among  our  friend's  most  cherished  treasures.  Another 
letter  which  he  highly  prized  shows  how  opportunely  his 
warm  heart  and  ready  pen  came  to  the  aid  of  this  com- 
munity at  its  time  of  greatest  need.  It  read  as  follows: 

CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE  OF  THE  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK 
INSTITUTED  A.D.    1868 

New  York, October  25th,  187I. 
Mr.  John  Crerar, 

Chicago. 
My  Dear  Sir: 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  held  this  day  at  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  I  read  your  letter  of  October  1 5th,  and  was 
especially  instructed  as  follows:  "On  motion  of  Jonathan  Sturges, 
seconded  by  A.  A.  Low,  the  secretary  of  this  meeting  be  requested 
to  address  a  letter  to  Mr.  John  Crerar  expressing  their  thanks  for  the 
very  important,  graphic,  and  touching  letter  which  Mr.  Crerar  had 
addressed  to  this  body,  and  to  respectfully  request  him  to  further 
oblige  the  Committee  by  continuing  to  write  them  on  the  condition 
of  matters  in  Chicago."  Please  accept  my  congratulations  and 
assurances  of  respect.  Frank  E.  Howe,  Sec. 

"Accompanying  this  letter  is  the  official  document 
making  John  Crerar  the  accredited  representative  of  the 
committee  appointed  by  the  Chamber  ol  Commerce  of 
the  State  of  New  York  for  the  relief  of  the  sufferers  by 
the  conflagration  in  Chicago.  And  in  that  capacity  he 
was  of  inestimable  benefit  to  this  city  in  those  days  of 
sorrow  and  suffering. 

[   '35  1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

"With  another  institution  in  his  native  City  of  New 
York  his  name  is  likewise  honorably  connected.  On  the 
day  of  John  Crerar's  funeral  the  flag  hung  at  half-mast 
above  the  hall  of  the  Mercantile  Library  Association  of 
New  York  in  memory  of  his  connection  with  it  as 
director,  vice-president,  and  president,  more  than  thirty 
years  ago.  And  one  of  its  officers  has  expressed  the  hope 
that  it  was  his  early  association  with  that  library,  and  the 
ideas  then  inculcated  that  were  instrumental  in  influenc- 
ing him  to  perform  the  act  of  munificence  for  the  benefit 
of  the  people  of  Chicago  whereby  his  name  will  be  vener- 
ated for  all  time.  We  who  knew  with  what  pride  and  pleas- 
ure he  was  wont  to  refer  to  his  early  connection  with  that 
institution  may  well  believe  this  to  be  true,  in  part,  at 
least.  And  perhaps  we  may  claim  some  share  in  the  shap- 
ing of  his  purpose,  for  the  associations  and  influences  of 
our  own  organization  which  he  has  honored  by  the  selec- 
tion of  so  many  of  its  members  as  directors  of  the  great 
library  he  has  founded. 

"He  has  honored  us  too  by  the  mention  of  our  club  in 
his  immortal  will.  And  that  gracious  farewell  gift  to  us  we 
receive  in  the  spirit  in  which  it  was  given.  We  do  not  need 
his  legacy  to  remind  us  of  John  Crerar,  nor  did  he  for  any 
such  reason  bestow  it.  But  it  is  a  token  of  his  aff"ection 
for  the  club  and  of  his  recognition  of  the  many  happy 
hours  he  passed  here,  which  as  such  we  reverently  accept. 
And  it  will  not  only  be  the  best  memento  of  him  but  that 
which  he  would  most  desire,  to  so  apply  it  as  to  extend 
the  influence  and  increase  the  usefulness  of  this  associa- 
tion in  the  line  of  the  objects  for  which  it  was  founded. 

"There  is  no  reason  why  this  occasion  should  be  one 

[  136 1 


JOHN     C  R  K  R  A  R 


|oHN  Crkrar's  Legacy 


of  gloom.  Our  sorrow  for  the  loss  of  such  a  man  is  mingled 
with  a  solemn  joy  that  he  has  left  so  glorious  a  name  and 
memory.  We  do  not  even  say  farewell,  since  his  spirit  and 
his  works  are  to  abide  with  us.  But  in  tender  remem- 
brance of  a  rare  companionship  which  his  death  has 
ended,  in  high  appreciation  of  the  splendid  qualities  which 
made  us  proud  and  glad  to  have  known  him,  and  in 
affectionate  acknowledgment  of  his  generous  bequest 
to  us,  we  inscribe  this  memorial  to  John  Crerar  on  the 
records  of  the  Chicago  Literary  Club." 

Mr.  Crerar's  legacy  to  the  club  was  the  sum  of  ten 
thousand  dollars.  Litigation  over  the  will  prevented  the 
executors  from  carrying  out  the  bequest  until  December, 
1893,  when  payment  was  made  with  accrued  interest. 

For  the  ladies'  night  meeting  in  April,  1890,  Robert 
Collyer  came  from  New  York  and  delighted  the  assembled 
members  and  guests  with  a  paper  on  "Friend  Jacob 
Bright  and  his  son  John."  This  was  only  one  of  many 
excellent  papers  that  were  read  during  the  year,  x^t  the 
last  meeting  of  the  season  the  portrait  of  Dr.  Noyes  that 
now  hangs  upon  our  walls  was  presented  to  the  club  by 
his  daughter,  Mrs.  Arthur  Orr.  Earlier  in  the  year  the 
large  carbon  photographs  of  Leonardo  da  Vinci's  "Mona 
Lisa"  and  Rembrandt's  "Portrait  of  a  Russian  Noble- 
man" had  been  given  to  the  club  by  Henry  Field,  to  whom 
we  were  already  indebted  for  the  gift  of  the  large  engrav- 
ing of  Paul  Delaroche's  painting  "The  Hemacycle  of  the 
Beaux  Arts"  that  has  so  long  been  a  familiar  adornment 
of  the  club  rooms. 

Although  there  was  no  slackening  in  the  devotion  ot  the 
members  during  this  season  or  the  next  when  Franklin 

I    137   ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

H.  Head  was  our  president,  there  was  a  marked  falling 
off  in  the  attendance,  clearly  attributable  to  the  location 
of  the  club  rooms.  For  the  members  who  lived  on  the 
south  side  of  the  city  it  was  ideal.  But  many  more  were 
residents  of  the  north  side  or  of  the  suburbs,  and  they 
did  not  find  it  so  easy  to  get  to  the  corner  of  Michigan 
Avenue  and  Van  Buren  Street,  especially  when,  as  often 
happened,  the  weather  was  inclement.  In  those  days  the 
North  State  Street  cars  ran  only  to  Lake  Street,  and  taxi- 
cabs  were  unknown.  Consequently,  when  in  the  spring  of 
1 891  it  became  apparent  that  the  Art  Institute  would 
need  to  sell  its  building  to  provide  a  part  of  the  funds  to 
erect  the  building  it  now  occupies,  and  had  begun  tenta- 
tive negotiation  for  the  cancellation  of  the  club's  lease, 
the  committee  on  rooms  and  finance  was  instructed  that, 
in  the  event  of  our  removal,  quarters  nearer  the  center  of 
the  city  should  be  selected  for  our  use. 

At  the  meeting  held  on  December  8,  1890,  General 
McClurg  read  a  paper  entitled  "An  American  Soldier — 
Minor  Milliken."  A  recital  of  the  names  of  the  forty-five 
members  who  listened  to  the  paper  affords  such  a  vision 
of  the  meeting  as  nothing  else  could  bring  to  mind. 
Named  in  the  order  in  which  they  appear  upon  the  record 
these  were:  Franklin  Head,  Fletcher  S.  Bassett,  Henry 
H.  Belfield,  Clarence  Burley,  Thomas  Dent,  Henry  Field, 
Dr.  Charles  Fuller,  Charles  W.  Fullerton,  Edward  I. 
Galvin,  Frank  Gilbert,  Daniel  Goodwin,  Frederick  W. 
Gookin,  Frederick  Greeley,  Samuel  S.  Greeley,  Robert  J. 
Hendricks,  Porter  Heywood,  Homer  N.  Hibbard,  Charles 
S.  Holt,  George  Howland,  Walter  M.  Howland,  William 
H.  Hubbard,  James  A.  Hunt,  Dr.  James  Nevins  Hyde, 

[   138  ] 


A  iMemorable  Fish  Story 


Elbridge  Keith,  Walter  Larned,  Bryan  Lathrop,  William 
McAndrew,  Edward  Mason,  Henry  Mason,  Roswell  H. 
Mason,  James  Norton,  Ephraim  Otis,  Dr.  William  F. 
Poole,  Rev.  Theodore  Prudden,  Moses  L.  Scudder,  Edwin 
Burritt  Smith,  David  Swing,  Eorado  Taft,  Charles  H. 
Taylor,  James  J.  Wait,  Aldace  F.  Walker,  Judge  Water- 
man, Arthur  B.  Wells,  Arthur  D.  Wheeler,  and  the  Rev. 
Edward  F.  Williams.  Truly  it  was  a  gathering  of  the 
faithful  and  what  men  they  were!  x^lmost  without  ex- 
ception they  were  regular  attendants  at  our  meetings. 
Myself  alone  excepted,  they  seem  to  rise  up  before  me 
as  I  write  their  names. 

After  the  paper  adjournment  was  had  to  the  supper 
room  where  they  grouped  about  the  small  tables  in 
friendly  intercourse.  One  of  the  groups  made  up,  as  I 
recall  it,  with  Norton,  Dr.  Fuller,  Ned  Mason,  Fred 
Greeley,  Fletcher  Bassett,  and  General  McClurg  as  its 
nucleus,  soon  attracted  many  others  until  a  large  circle 
was  formed  of  eager  listeners  to  amazing  fish  stories. 
Norton,  Fuller,  and  Mason,  all  three  lovers  of  the  Lake 
Superior  and  the  Nipigon  regions,  vied  with  each  other 
in  relating  their  piscatorial  adventures  and  achievements. 
Others  joined  in  the  recitals  and  the  merriment  was 
contagious.  When  the  laughter  evoked  by  one  astound- 
ing tale  after  another  had  subsided  and  there  was  a 
moment's  stillness,  then  it  was  that  Thomas  Dent  told  his 
famous  fish  story;  his  small  voice  was  heard  as  he  said 
very  softly  and  slowly:  "/  went  fishing  once!  I  had  a 
willow  rod  and  a  bent  pin  for  a  hook.  I  didn't  catch 
anything!" 


[    139  ] 


Chapter  X 

A  N  unwritten  law  of  the  club  which  has  been  obeyed 
/— k  without  infraction  from  the  earliest  days  down  to 
■^  J^  the  present  time  is  that  the  term  of  office  of  its 
presidents  should  be  one  year  only,  the  brief  first  season  of 
organization  alone  being  excepted,  or  not  counted.  For 
the  season  of  1 891-1892  Rev.  Dr.  Clinton  Locke  was 
elected  its  presiding  officer.  At  the  annual  dinner  in 
October,  1890,  when  Mr.  Head  delivered  his  inaugural 
address,  Dr.  Locke  was  one  of  the  members  called  upon 
to  make  an  after-dinner  speech.  He  responded  with  a 
short  address  abounding  in  characteristic  pleasantries 
none  of  which  was  intended  to  have  any  significance 
other  than  pure  fun,  but  in  the  course  of  it  he  remarked 
that  the  Chicago  Literary  Club  was  the  one  place  in 
Chicago  where  one  could  go  and  not  hear  the  question 
asked:  "How  is  beesness?"  "These  words,"  Sigmund 
Zeisler  says,  and  his  report  of  the  occurrence  is  confirmed 
by  Dr.  Dudley  and  others,  "were  spoken  with  an  into- 
nation and  accompanied  by  a  gesture  supposed  to  be 
characteristic  of  Jews.  Emil  G.  Hirsch,  deeply  offended 
and  aching  for  a  chance  to  reply  but  loath  to  volunteer, 
got  Julius  Rosenthal  to  rise  and  propose  that  Dr.  Hirsch 
be  called  upon  for  a  speech.  This  having  been  done  by 
the  president,  Dr.  Hirsch,  made  an  impassioned  speech 
in  which  he  resented  what  seemed  to  him  Dr.  Locke's 
assumption  that  sordid  materialism  was  peculiar  to  or 
characteristic  of  the  Jewish  race.  In  a  burst  of  eloquence 

[    140  ] 


REVEREND    CLINTON     LOCKE 


A  Memorable  Sally 


he  traced  the  contribution  of  the  Jews  to  the  cultural 
possessions  of  mankind — to  literature,  art, science, philos- 
ophy, etc. — from  the  earliest  times  down  to  the  present." 
Dr.  Dudley  says:  ''The  speech  of  Dr.  Hirsch  was  one  of 
the  most  forceful  and  impassioned  pieces  of  oratory  I 
have  ever  heard.  His  eloquence  was  almost  superhuman. 
Like  Lincoln's  speech  at  Gettysburg  it  was  received  in 
silence  for  the  moment  and  was  then  followed  by  an  out- 
burst of  prolonged  applause.  At  this  point  there  was  no 
doubt  where  the  sympathy  of  the  club  rested." 

The  sequel  came  a  year  later  when  Dr.  Locke  rose  to 
deliver  his  inaugural  address  as  president.  "I  hesitate  to 
begin,"  were  his  opening  words,  "and  I  must  be  careful 
about  what  I  say,  bearing  in  mind  how  a  year  ago  I  got 
into  trouble  with  my  unfortunate  little  jeu  (pronounced 
Jew)  d'esprit."  The  laughter  with  which  this  witty  neu- 
tralization of  his  faux  pas  was  greeted  fairly  shook  the 
room.  *'Dr.  Locke's  sally,"  says  Rev.  Charles  F.  Bradley, 
who  was  one  of  the  members  present,  "had  the  form  of 
an  apology  and  the  appearance  of  a  new  affront.  But  in 
effect  it  was  like  the  plea  of  an  irrepressible  but  thor- 
oughly good-hearted  and  good-humored  boy;  as  if  he  had 
said:  'You  ought  to  have  known  me  better  than  to  have 
thought  I  meant  anything  offensive.  It  was  a  bit  of  rol- 
licking fun.  I  am  made  that  way.  I  can't  help  it  and  here 
I  go  again.'  "  That  Dr.  Locke's  words  were  taken  in  that 
spirit  by  all  his  hearers  the  writer  can  testify,  having 
in  mind  the  broad  smile  by  which  his  face  was  over- 
spread as  he  uttered  them.  His  extraordinarily  keen  sense 
of  humor  and  the  quickness  of  wit  that  accompanied  it 
were  perhaps  his  most  salient  characteristics.  One  thinks 

[    141    1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

of  him  as  in  many  respects  unlike  any  one  else,  yet  as  pre- 
ordained by  nature  to  be  a  clergyman.  He  was  devoted 
to  his  church  work,  was  an  effective  preacher,  was  zeal- 
ous in  the  performance  of  his  parochial  duties,  and  was 
beloved  by  his  parishioners.  But  the  spirit  of  fun  for 
which  there  was  no  outlet  in  the  pulpit  had  to  find  expres- 
sion elsewhere.  He  was  a  jolly  companion,  uncommonly 
fond  of  making  jokes  and  swapping  merry  tales,  and  if 
they  chanced  to  be  a  bit  salacious  that  did  not  dull  his 
enjoyment  of  them  provided  they  were  really  amusing. 
The  subject  of  his  inaugural  address  was  "The  Making, 
Giving,  and  Receiving  of  Taffy."  To  assert  that  he  wrote 
whereof  he  had  intimate  knowledge  is  not  intended  to 
imply  any  derogation,  but  should  be  taken  as  a  recogni- 
tion of  the  innate  and  unfailing  tact  with  which  he  soft- 
ened some  of  the  asperities  of  intercourse  with  those 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 

Early  in  Dr.  Locke's  administration  the  question  of 
whether  the  club  should  arrange  to  move  from  the  Art 
Institute  Building  became  so  acute  that  the  business 
meeting  on  November  23,  1891,  was  entirely  given  over 
to  its  consideration.  Arthur  D.  Wheeler  as  chairman  re- 
ported that  the  only  rooms  at  all  suited  to  the  purposes 
of  the  club  which  the  committee  on  rooms  and  finance 
had  been  able  to  find  were  in  two  office  buildings  then  in 
process  of  erection,  and  were  held  at  higher  rentals  than 
the  club  was  then  paying.  Plans  for  the  arrangement  of 
the  available  space  in  both  buildings  were  submitted, 
but  the  committee  made  no  recommendation,  not  regard- 
ing the  quarters  obtainable  in  either  building  as  satisfac- 
tory. In  the  general  discussion  that  followed  the  relations 

[   142  ] 


Concerning  Club  Rooms 


of  the  club  to  the  Art  Institute  came  up  for  consideration 
as  it  appeared  that  a  sale  of  the  Art  Institute  Building 
to  the  Chicago  Club  had  practically  been  completed  with- 
out any  arrangement  having  been  made  for  th»  cancella- 
tion of  the  lease  held  by  the  Chicago  Literary  Club,  which 
would  not  expire  until  April  ^o,  1897,  '^^^^  ^"  motion  by 
James  L.  High  it  was  "Resolved  that  it  is  the  sense  of 
this  club  that  we  are  willing  to  surrender  our  present 
lease  provided  satisfactory  quarters  can  be  substituted 
for  our  present  rooms  upon  such  terms  as  to  save  this 
club  substantially  harmless  from  any  loss  during  the  re- 
maining term  of  our  lease." 

During  the  remainder  of  the  season  the  rooms  question 
was  frequently  under  discussion.  Several  meetings  were 
devoted  to  its  consideration  and  the  rooms  and  finance 
committee  made  diligent  efforts  to  solve  it  without  suc- 
cess. The  city  was  growing  with  great  rapidity  and  in 
anticipation  of  the  Columbian  Exposition  there  was  an 
active  demand  for  all  unoccupied  space  in  well-located 
buildings  in  the  central  business  district.  As  the  end  of 
the  season  drew  near  and  the  need  of  the  Art  Institute 
to  have  the  question  settled  was  urgent,  finally  on  June 
6,  1892,  the  board  of  directors  of  the  club  was  authorized 
to  surrender  the  lease  to  the  Art  Institute  for  the  sum  of 
ten  thousand  dollars,  it  being  apparent  that  no  smaller 
amount  would  save  the  club  from  loss,  and  the  directors 
were  given  full  authority  to  arrange  for  temporary  or 
permanent  quarters  for  the  use  of  the  club  during  the 
ensuing  season.  There  was  some  feeling  at  the  time  that 
the  club  had  not  been  quite  fair  to  such  a  worthy  institu- 
tion as  the  Art  Institute  and  had  insisted  upon  needlessly 

[    >43   ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

hard  terms,  but  the  experience  of  subsequent  years  has 
plainly  shown  that  without  the  income  derived  from  the 
investment  of  the  proceeds  of  the  lease  and  of  the  Crerar 
bequest,  mounting  rentals  and  other  expenses  would  have 
necessitated  raising  the  dues  to  a  figure  beyond  the 
ability  of  some  of  our  most  desirable  members  to  pay. 

Gifts  made  to  the  club  in  the  course  of  this  season 
were  a  plaster  cast  from  Jules  Gelert's  excellent  bust  of 
John  Wellborn  Root  presented  by  Charles  C.  Curtiss, 
and  a  framed  photograph  of  James  Russell  Lowell  given 
by  George  A.  Armour.  On  March  28  an  amendment  to 
the  by-laws  was  adopted  making  the  term  of  office  of  the 
members  of  the  committee  on  arrangements  and  exercises 
begin  immediately  on  the  adjournment  of  the  meeting  at 
which  they  are  elected.  The  literary  feast  provided  at  the 
meetings  was  fully  up  to  the  high  standard  set  in  pre- 
vious years,  but  it  would  unduly  expand  this  history  to 
describe  the  papers  in  detail.  One,  however,  because  of 
its  unique  character  cannot  be  passed  without  mention 
—  the  story  entitled  "Mr.  Jones'  Experiment"  read  by 
James  Norton  on  May  2, 1892.  The  experiment  consisted 
in  always  telling  the  plain  unvarnished  truth  on  all  occa- 
sions and  never  resorting  to  even  the  whitest  of  white  lies 
whatever  might  be  the  consequences  of  "letting  the  cat 
out  of -the  bag,"  or  of  exposing  sentiments  that  are  ordi- 
narily concealed.  One  day's  experience  proved  enough  to 
convince  Mr.  Jones  that  "the  man  who  gives  way  to  his 
sincerity  as  a  regular  habit  is  marked  for  destruction." 
This  paper  was  printed  in  the  memorial  volume  of  "Ad- 
dresses and  Fragments  in  Prose  and  Verse,"  a  copy  of 
which  is  in  the  club  library. 

[   144  ] 


Concerning  Belovkd  Members 

Among  the  thirty-three  members  admitted  during  the 
last  two  years  of  our  tenancy  of  the  Art  Institute  Building 
Walter  L.  Fisher,  Martin  A.  Ryerson,  George  E.  Dawson, 
Ingolf  K.  Boyesen,  Julian  S.  Mack,  Dr.  Charles  J.  Little, 
and  William  Rainey  Harper  became  most  closely  identi- 
fied with  our  organization.  Ten  of  our  members  died 
within  the  two  years.  Of  these  the  Rev.  John  C.  Bur- 
roughs was  one  of  the  founders.  Samuel  Bliss  and  Henry 
T.  Steele  were  among  those  who  never  missed  a  meeting 
that  they  were  able  to  attend,  and  Steele's  last  thoughts 
were  of  his  friends  in  the  club  he  loved  so  well.  George 
Driggs,  though  he  had  been  a  member  during  less  than 
four  years,  had  made  an  enduring  impress  upon  the  hearts 
of  all  of  his  fellows.  John  W.  Root  also,  and  Edwin  H.  Shel- 
don, Henry  Field,  Dr.  Hosmer  A.  Johnson,  and  General 
William  Emerson  Strong,  all  men  of  mark  and  staunch 
supporters  of  the  club,  were  good  comrades  and  dear 
friends  whom  we  grieved  to  lose.  Doctor  Johnson  in  espe- 
cial had  endeared  himself  to  us,  and  those  of  us  who  were 
privileged  to  know  him  can  never  forget  what  manner  of 
man  he  was,  high-minded,  clear-sighted,  broadly  sympa- 
thetic, dignified  in  bearing  yet  always  affable;  it  was 
impossible  to  withhold  respect  for  his  mental  attainments 
or  to  resist  the  attraction  of  his  winning  personality. 
General  Strong  had  also  made  a  warm  place  for  himself 
in  our  hearts.  As  was  well  said  by  Colonel  Jackson  in  the 
memorial  biography  written  for  the  club,  "He  was  a 
unique  character:  a  noble  type  of  the  American  citizen" 
and  "the  beau  ideal  of  a  soldier."  In  the  Civil  War  his 
record  was  "gallant  and  captivating."  In  the  club  his 
magnetic  personality  was  always  inspiring:  his  jovial 

[  145 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

good  nature  was  of  the  contagious  sort:  his  deeper  inter- 
ests were  in  literature,  art,  and  music.  Many  of  his  fellow 
members  deeply  mourned  his  early  death  at  the  age  of  not 
quite  fifty-one  years.  Not  less  keenly  did  the  friends  of 
John  Wellborn  Root  feel  when  he  died  at  the  age  of 
forty-one.  It  was  not  only  that  he  was  a  man  of  rare 
attainments,  an  architect  of  unusual  ability  who  had 
achieved  wide  fame  and  whose  career  gave  promise  of  still 
greater  things  in  the  future:  it  was  the  man  himself  who 
was  missed,  the  delightful  companion  to  whom  we  were 
attached  by  the  bonds  of  esteem  and  affection. 

The  opening  of  the  season  of  1 892-1 893  found  the  club 
without  a  home,  and  it  is  difficult  to  say  where  the  meet- 
ings could  have  been  held  had  not  the  directors  of  the 
University  Club  come  to  our  rescue  and  offered  us  the  use 
of  the  large  dining  room  on  the  sixth  floor  of  the  building 
at  116-118  Dearborn  Street,  between  Washington  and 
Madison  Streets  which  was  then  its  club  house.  This  cour- 
tesy was  greatly  appreciated  and  gladly  accepted.  At  the 
time  the  offer  was  made  negotiations  were  begun  looking 
toward  a  more  permanent  arrangement.  This  could  not 
be  brought  about  unless  the  University  Club  were  enabled 
to  make  some  extensive  changes  in  the  building.  Fortu- 
nately the  Chicago  Literary  Club  was  in  a  position  to 
assist,  and  on  January  23, 1 893,  Lewis  H.  Boutell  who  was 
then  the  president  of  our  club  announced  that  the  boards 
of  directors  of  the  two  clubs  had  reached  an  agreement. 
To  help  the  University  Club  to  make  the  necessary  altera- 
tions the  Literary  Club  would  lend  it  $14,000  for  ten  years 
at  six  per  cent  interest,  the  loan  to  be  secured  by  the  mort- 
gage bonds  of  the  University  Club,  and  would  be  given  a 

[  146  ] 


A  Tribute  to  George  Howlaxd 

ten  years'  lease  of  either  the  second  or  the  third  floor  as 
it  might  elect,  which  would  be  divided  into  rooms  in  such 
manner  as  would  best  meet  its  needs,  suitable  provision 
being  made  for  the  termination  of  the  lease  and  the  pay- 
ment of  the  loan  in  the  event  that  the  University  Club 
should  sell  the  building.  As  the  changes  in  the  building 
could  not  be  made  until  May  after  the  expiration  of  the 
leases  held  by  tenants  who  occupied  the  second  floor, 
the  covenants  were  not  finally  ratified  until  April.  Then 
the  loan  was  made,  and  the  fitting  up  and  decorating  of 
the  new  rooms  were  placed  in  charge  of  the  writer  of  this 
history.  Later,  when  the  club  received  the  Crerar  legacy 
the  loan  to  the  University  Club  was  increased  to  $20,000. 
It  was  repaid  in  1906  when  the  sale  of  the  building 
again  compelled  us  to  seek  other  quarters. 

At  one  of  the  first  meetings  of  this  season  it  was  the 
painful  duty  of  President  Boutell  to  announce  the  death 
of  George  Howland.  From  the  beginning  Rowland  had 
been  the  most  familiar  figure  at  our  meetings.  Besides 
the  sense  of  personal  loss  felt  by  each  one  of  us  his  pass- 
ing away  meant  that  without  him  the  club  could  never 
be  quite  the  same.  Well  did  the  authors  of  the  memorial 
biography  printed  by  the  club  say  of  him:  "Perhaps  no 
member  of  the  Literary  Club  more  appreciated  its  pur- 
poses and  privileges,  and  more  identified  himself  with  all 
its  interests  than  did  our  lamented  friend  George  How- 
land.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  club,  and  for 
nearly  twenty  years  was  the  member  most  constant  in 
attendance  at  its  meetings,  and  ever  ready  to  participate 
in  the  literary  exercises.  He  had  the  affectionate  regard 
of  all  the  members  who  were  drawn  to  him  by  his  refined 

I    147   ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

and  gentle  nature,  his  charming  social  qualities  and  his 
wide  and  generous  scholarship.  The  club  bestowed  on 
him  its  highest  office.  He  was  a  man  of  rare  accomplish- 
ments: and,  by  his  life-work  as  educator,  he  secured  a 
local  and  national  reputation  which  reflects  honor  upon 
his  associates  in  the  club  which  he  loved  and  with  which 
he  was  closely  identified." 

Despite  theconvenient  location  of  the  University  Club 
there  was  a  further  falling-off  in  the  attendance  at  the 
meetings  in  the  season  of  1 892-1 893.  As  many  of  us  were 
members  of  both  clubs  the  absence  of  the  home  feeling 
that  is  so  important  was  not  marked.  But  in  one  way  or 
another  most  of  us  were  affected  by  the  preparations  for 
the  Columbian  Exposition  and  the  many  distractions 
incident  thereto.  As  the  University  Club  Building  had  to 
beclosed  while  the  alterations  were  being  made,  the  sea- 
son was  ended  with  the  meeting  held  on  May  8,  1893, 
when  Paul  Shorey  read  a  paper  on  "Dion  Chrysostom" 
and  Horatio  Loomis  Wait  was  elected  president  for  the 
ensuing  year. 

During  the  season  two  more  names  were  added  to  the 
roll  of  members  deceased,  those  of  Thomas  F.  Withrow 
and  the  Rev.  John  H.  Worcester  Jr.  Both  of  these  men 
were  valued  members  who  were  deeply  attached  to  the 
club.  In  the  months  between  October  i,  1892,  and  May 
I,  1893, only  ten  members  were  admitted,  but  among 
them  were  Edgar  Addison  Bancroft,  Rev.  William 
Horace  Day,  Frank  O.  Lowden,  Sigmund  Zeisler,  and 
the  Rev.  Dr.  William  W.  Fenn,  all  of  whom  became  ac- 
tively identified  with  the  club  and  have  contributed  to  its 
welfare  in  many  ways. 

[    148   ] 


Dkath  of  Edgar  Bancrof'j- 


While  the  proof  sheets  of  this  book  were  being  read, 
word  came  from  Karuizawa,  Japan,  telling  of  the  death 
of  Mr.  Bancroft.  Although  the  date  of  this  sad  event  does 
not  fall  within  the  period  of  the  club's  first  fifty  years, 
this  history  would  not  be  properly  rounded  out  unless  a 
record  of  it  and  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  Bancroft  were 
included,  for  he  was  not  only  dearly  loved  and  highly 
esteemed  by  his  fellow  members,  but  he  was  one  of  those 
with  whom  they  must  always  feel  proud  to  have  been  as- 
sociated. He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  club  on  No- 
vember 28,  i892,just  eight  days  later  than  his  thirty-fifth 
birthday  and  only  a  short  time  after  he  had  come  to  Chi- 
cago from  Galesburg,  Illinois,  where  he  was  born  and 
where,  after  his  graduation  from  Knox  College  in  1878 
and  from  Columbia  University  Law  School  in  1880,  he  had 
attained  an  enviable  reputation  as  a  lawyer  and  as  an 
accomplished  and  effective  public  speaker.  Alert,  affable, 
vivacious,  and  having  a  keen  sense  of  humor,  he  quickly 
made  a  place  for  himself  in  the  club,  and  during  several 
seasons  he  was  a  regular  and  most  welcome  attendant 
at  our  meetings.  Gradually,  however,  as  the  years  went 
on,  the  pressure  of  professional  duties  and  absence  from 
the  city  made  his  attendance  less  and  less  frequent, 
greatly  to  his  regret  and  ours;  but  the  thoughtful  papers 
with  which  he  favored  us  from  time  to  time,  as  well  as 
words  spoken  by  him  to  the  writer,  testified  to  his  interest 
in  and  his  attachment  to  the  club  which  continued  to 
the  end  of  his  life. 

The  high  honors  that  came  to  Edgar  Bancroft  in  his 
later  years  were  richly  deserved.  His  career  as  a  lawyer 
was  a  distinguished  one  and  brought  him  national  fame. 

[    149  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

To  whatever  he  undertook  he  gave  the  best  that  was  in 
him;  close  study,  penetrating  insight,  unremitting  care. 
Mental  integrity,  steadfastness,  and  sympathetic  under- 
standing of  his  fellows,  were  among  his  most  salient 
characteristics.  And,  while  tenaciously  adhering  to  opin- 
ions that  he  believed  to  be  well  grounded,  he  always 
strove  to  preserve  an  open  mind,  free  from  petty  prejudice 
and  misjudgment.  These  qualities  inspired  confidence  in 
all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact;  and  his  magnetic  per- 
sonality and  courteous  bearing  won  for  him  many  close 
friendships  with  men  of  the  highest  type. 

In  selecting  Mr.  Bancroft  to  be  the  Ambassador  from 
the  United  States  to  Japan,  President  Coolidgemade  an 
exceptionally  wise  choice.  No  man  could  have  been  better 
fitted  for  the  post  than  he:  none  could  have  acquitted 
himself  with  more  credit  or  greater  honor  to  his  country 
than  he  did  in  the  all  too  brief  period  that  he  held  it  be- 
fore his  life  was  cut  short  by  an  ailment  from  which  he 
had  long  been  a  sufferer.  His  death  called  forth  many 
expressions  of  grief  from  the  people  to  whom  he  had  been 
accredited.  The  Premier,  Viscount  Kato,  spoke  of  it  as 
"a  staggering  blow."  The  Foreign  Minister,  Baron  Shide- 
hara,  said  it  "could  not  be  described  as  anything  but 
tragic,"  and  he  added:  "During  his  services  here  he  not 
only  endeared  himself  to  all  with  whom  he  came  in  con- 
tact, by  his  sympathy,  enthusiasm,  and  readiness  to 
accept  other  points  of  view  than  his  own,  but  he  won 
universal  respect  by  the  clearness  of  his  mind  and  the 
steadiness  of  his  purpose."  In  the  tributes  the  Japanese 
paid  to  his  memory  all  precedents  were  broken.  The 
funeral  services  in  St.  Andrews  Pro-Cathedral  were  at- 

[  150 1 


Tributes  to  Bancroft 


tended  by  the  Imperial  Princes,  the  Premier  and  Cabinet 
Ministers,  and  many  others.  When  the  casket  containing 
his  body  was  taken  to  the  Tokyo  railway  station  to  be 
transported  to  Yokohama  and  thence  to  America,  arrayed 
along  the  line  of  march  were  the  regiments  forming 
the  entire  division  of  the  Imperial  body-guard,  save  the 
lancers  who  led  the  cortege  as  an  escort  of  honor,  and  the 
casket  was  carried  into  the  station  through  the  entrance 
reserved  for  members  of  the  Imperial  family.  And  as  the 
cruiser  bearing  it  sailed  away,  "a  series  of  clear  notes" 
by  an  unseen  bugler,  "the  Japanese  military  salute  to 
one  who  has  died  in  the  service  of  his  country,  echoed 
across  Tokyo  Bay." 

Of  all  the  words  that  have  been  writen  about  Bancroft 
since  his  death,  none  are  more  touching  than  those  penned 
by  a  writer  in  the  New  York  Times,  who  must  have 
known  him  well.  They  are  also  so  apt  that  the  present 
writer  feels  that  they  should  have  a  place  here,  and  they 
are  therefore,  quoted  in  extenso. 

The  body  of  Bancroft  is  today  being  borne  on  a  catafalque  high 
above  the  waves  on  a  Japanese  cruiser  across  the  Pacific.  Bancroft 
was  of  the  highest  intellectual  ability  and  of  the  deepest  human 
sympathy.  In  his  prize  oration  on  "The  Loneliness  of  Genius,"  he 
used  the  figure  of  the  eagle  soaring  alone.  He  had  a  genius  that 
would  have  given  him  a  lofty  loneliness  had  he  chosen  to  live  apart 
in  the  realm  of  a  purely  intellectual  life,  but  he  was  a  great  human- 
ist at  heart;  he  loved  the  comradeship  of  men  and  was  ready  to 
give  himself  even  beyond  the  limit  of  his  strength  for  tiie  public 
good.  He  never  sought  office  for  himself,  but  he  was  a  fearless  fighter 
for  the  causes  in  which  he  believed. 

He  is  being  borne  by  the  Japanese  to  whom  he  went  on  his  high 
mission,  as  was  King  Arthur  upon  the  "dusky  barge,"  not,  however, 
to  the  island  valley  of  Avalon, 


[  151  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

Where  falls  not  hail  or  rain  or  any  snow 
Nor  ever  winds  blow  loudly, 
but  back  to  that  windy,  rain  and  snow-swept  valley  lying  in  the 
heart  of  his  own  country.  To  it  his  death  has  bound  the  little  island 
empire  whose  people  he  made  his  friends,  and  so  the  friends  of  the 
United  States.  It  is  a  moving  answer  that  the  Japanese  have  made 
to  the  America  that  sent  its  squadron  to  knock  at  the  closed  door 
of  Japan  seventy-three  year  ago.  More  effective  for  the  peace  of  the 
world  than  all  the  visitations  of  friendly  war  fleets  is  the  voyage  of 
this  lonely  cruiser  with  its  one  home-bound  passenger. 

Tennyson's  "Morte  d'Arthur"  has  given  the  lines  with  which 
best  to  describe  his  home-coming: 

And  all  the  people  cried 
"Arthur  is  come  again:  he  cannot  die." 
Then  those  that  stood  upon  the  hills  behind 
Repeat,  "Come  again,  and  thrice  as  far," 
And,  further  inland,  voices  echo'd  —  "Come 
With  all  good  things  and  war  shall  be  no  more." 


[  152  ] 


Chapter  XI 

WHEN  the  season  of  1 893-1 894  opened  with 
the  annual  reunion  and  dinner  on  October  2, 
1893,  f'">^  "^^v  club  rooms  on  the  second  floor 
of  the  University  Club  Building  were  ready  tor  occupancy. 
The  dinner  was  served  in  the  large  room  on  the  Dearborn 
Street  front.  This  room  which  was  nearly  square  had  win- 
dows on  its  east  and  south  sides,  and  in  the  center  of  the 
north  wall  there  was  a  large  fireplace  with  an  elaborate 
yellow  birch  mantel  designed  for  us  by  Joseph  L.  Silsbee, 
which  with  its  paneled  chimney-breast  covering  extended 
to  the  ceiling.  Ordinarily  this  room  was  the  assembly  and 
reading  room,  and  the  great  round  table,  described  in 
an  earlier  chapter,  was  placed  near  its  center  and  was 
covered  with  periodicals.  The  audience  room  which  was 
of  not  much  more  than  half  the  size  of  the  other,  extended 
across  the  building  at  the  rear,  and  by  a  dumb-waiter  in 
the  northwest  corner,  was  connected  with  the  University 
Club  kitchen.  Opening  from  the  corridor  that  connected 
these  rooms  were,  at  the  south,  a  small  committee  room 
and  a  commodious  coat  room,  and,  at  the  north,  the 
elevator  and  staircase  entrances. 

In  these  rooms  we  were  comfortably  housed  for  thir- 
teen years.  Only  toward  the  end  of  our  tenancy  did  they, 
for  special  reasons,  become  no  longer  desirable.  To  recite 
in  detail  all  the  occurrences  of  these  years  would  fill  a 
large  volume.  Some  of  them,  however,  call  for  specific 
mention.  Among  the  notable  meetings  of  the  season  when 

[  153  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

Major  Wait  was  our  president,  was  the  "short-story 
night"  in  charge  of  Major  Joseph  Kirkland  when  he  de- 
lighted us  with  a  tale  entitled  "The  World's  Congress  of 
Cripples,"  Dr.  Emilius  Dudley  gave  an  account  of  "A 
Historical  Gambling  Debt,"  and  Professor  Swing  read 
"A  True  Love-Story":  others  were  the  meetings  when 
Henry  Sherman  Boutell  read  his  paper  entitled  "A  De- 
serted Village,"  and  when  Ingolf  K.  Boyesen  talked  about 
"Some  Norwegian  Story-tellers."  At  the  latter,  the  plan 
for  selecting  and  printing  papers  read  before  the  club, 
which  has  since  been  followed,  was  presented.  Then  on 
March  19,  1894,  the  club  celebrated  its  twentieth  anni- 
versary. Several  members  gave  reminiscences  of  early 
happenings  and  Edward  Mason  read  a  short  paper,  nearly 
all  of  which  by  free  quotation  has  been  incorporated  in 
this  history.  Two  poems  v/ere  written  for  the  occasion. 
One  by  Charles  Norman  Fay  was  entitled: 

THOU  ART  TWENTY  YEARS  OF  AGE, 
MY  LADY  LITERARY 

INVOCATION 

And  thou  art  twenty  years  of  age, 

My  Lady  Literary, 
And  didst  thy  slaves  turn  down  the  page. 

And  fall  to  making  merry? 
Well,  so  we  will.  Have  thou  thy  way — 

Give  me  a  glass  of  wine 
And  let  my  fancy  backward  stray 

My  reveries  divine. 

QUESTION 

How  trips  the  light  fantastic  toe 
Of  twenty  years  away! 

[  154  1 


Poem  by  Norman  Fay 


How  green  the  summers  come  and  go, 

While  men  grow  old  and  gray! 
Dost  thou  not  mind  those  good  old  days 

When  Huntington  was  here  — 
Those  early  Masons  and  MacVeaghs, 

Whom  once  thou  heldst  so  dear? 
Art  not  ashamed,  thou  lissome  lass, 

Whose  twenties  come  to-night, 
To  look  so  boldly  in  thy  glass 

And  blush  with  such  delight 
To  see  thyself  still  young  and  fair, 

Still  full  of  joy  untold. 
Nor  feel  one  pang,  nor  own  one  care, 

For  lovers  growing  old. 
For  lovers  dead,  for  lovers  gone. 

For  lovers  all  forgot? 
Canst  thou  not  make  one  little  moan 

For  friend  remembered  not? 


ANSWER 


Full  well  I  mind  those  ancient  flirts 

Who  tried  to  toy  with  me, 
And  gave  a  hundredth  of  their  hearts  — 

('Tis  much  the  same  with  thee.) 
I  never  was  their  only  love 

In  all  this  flaunting  town, 
Nor  were  they  mine,  by  heavens  above. 

So  cease  that  jealous  frown. 
The  Greeks,  thou  knowest,  had  their  "Lit" 

Two  thousand  years  ago. 
They're  dead  and  gone,  and  what  of  it! 

Their  rhythmic  measures  flow 
Through  lips  and  minds  of  many  men, 

Therewith  they  woo  me  still, 
And  sing  their  love  songs  o'er  again, 

Just  as  they  ever  will. 
I'm  not  a  woman,  tho'  my  heart 

Hath  room  for  millions  more; 
I  am  not  owned  by  this  small  part 

I  155  1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

Of  earth,  within  this  door; 
No  walls  shall  be  my  narrow  bound, 

No  century  my  age; 
But  while  the  wheel  of  heaven  goes  'round, 

And  all  the  world's  a  stage, 
Till  from  the  scene  of  time  and  sense 

All  actors  pass  away, 
I  am  the  eternal  Audience 

For  whom  you  puppets  play. 
And  still  men  worship  at  my  shrine. 

Still  am  I  young  and  fair. 
Still  do  they  hail  me  as  divine 

Or  curse  me  in  despair. 
Changeful  perhaps  from  day  to  day, 

Unchanging  in  the  end, 
Wouldst  thou  be  actor  in  the  play 

Then  hear  me,  fretful  friend. 

When  thro'  long  years  I've  marked  thee  well. 

And  thou  a  loved  thing  art. 
Not  all  the  gates  of  heaven  and  hell 

Can  bar  thee  from  my  heart. 
So  doubt  no  more.  Reel  off  thy  rhymes. 

And  when  years  hence,  some  say 
These  are  not  like  the  good  old  times 

Of  Mason  and  MacVeagh, 
When  Macdonell  was  here  and  Swing 

And  Harry  Huntington, 
Tell  them  it's  quite  the  same  old  thing. 

And  even  better  done. 
The  literature  will  be  no  worse. 

The  fun  will  be  as  good. 
The  chap  that  furnishes  the  verse 

Must  then,  as  now,  saw  wood. 
That  portraits  of  your  honest  selves 

Will  terrify  the  hall, 
And  even  books  surprise  the  shelves 

That  patient  line  the  wail. 
That  Gookin  still  will  come  to  mind 

In  script,  vignette,  or  text, 

[  156  ] 


Poem  by  Dr.  Nkvins  Hyde 


That,  lost  in  this  worki,  ye  shall  find 

Your  Furness  in  the  next. 
That  Dante's  dead,  and  Sophocles, 

And  no  one  makes  ado, 
That  what  befell  such  swells  as  these 

Is  good  enough  for  you. 
And  last,  to  sum  my  sermon's  sense, 

And  give  all  comfort,  say 
That  where  there  is  an  Audience 

There'll  always  be  a  play. 

REVERIE 

Ah  gentle  lady,  sayst  thou  so. 

Good  night  then;  All  the  same 
It  does  me  wondrous  good  to  know  — 

Thou'rt  such  an  ancient  dame. 
And  yet  thou  look'st  so  very  fair 

And  seem'st  so  very  young — 
But  I  have  talked  too  much,  I  swear. 

Give  me  a  drink  that's  strong. 

The  poem  by  Dr.  James  Nevins  Hyde  should  also  have 
a  place  in  this  chronicle. 

A  SPRIG  OF  ROSEMARY 

"There's  rosemary,  that's  for  remembrance!" 

At  evening,  in  the  mart  of  the  great  town, 

Where  the  Lake  meets  the  land, 
My  newest  friend,  the  Year,  with  me  sat  down; 

I  held  him  by  the  hand. 

"Go  not"  I  cried,  "for  all  the  rest  have  passed — 

Twenty  were  they,  all  told — 
How  swiftly  from  me  sped!  till  at  the  last 

Only  this  hand  to  hold!" 

"Defer  for  but  a  space  thy  speedy  flight!  — 
Pause  on  the  murmurous  stream 


[  157  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

Which  bore  the  others  toward  perpetual  night — 
Give  me  an  hour  to  dream — " 

"To  bring  again  in  dreams  these  that  were  mine, 

The  friends  each  twelvemonth  told; 
Some  read;  some  sang;  some  brought  from  forth  the  mine, 

Ore  finer  than  fine  gold!" 

"And  some — but  now,  the  voices  of  the  dead 

Spoke  to  me  in  their  wise! 
But  now,  I  gathered  truth  of  what  they  said!  — 

Asked  of  their  answering  eyes! — " 

"Drank,  ate  at  the  same  board,  here  in  this  place — 

Shared  in  their  hopes  and  fears — " 
Speech  failed  me  further;  and  from  my  wet  face 

My  comrade  wiped  the  tears! 

He  led  me  forth  and  straightway  for  me  found 

What  friends  the  others  knew; 
Some  read;  some  sang;  they  sate  the  board  around; 

They  digged  the  mine  anew! 

Passed  then  a  queen  with  visage  fair  and  meek; 

Beneath  his  casque,  the  face 
Shewed  of  a  knight;  in  Sparta  a  proud  Greek 

Harangued  the  populace! 

Jurists  wrote  law;  and  there  were  fought  again 

Battles  on  land  and  sea; 
Ophelia  with  a  tender  face  of  pain 

Offered  her  rosemary! 

The  twenty  lived;  and  to  the  lettered  page 

Of  books  my  steps  they  led. 
With  a  charmed  company  of  every  age;  — 

And  I  was  comforted! 

No  less  than  thirty-two  members  were  admitted  dur- 
ing this  season,  a  record  equaled  only  in  the  earliest 
years.  And  for  the  only  time  in  our  history  the  number 

[  158  ] 


Five  Dearly  Beloved  Members 

on  the  resident  list  reached  the  full  quota  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty.  This  was  not  long  maintained,  for,  before  the 
season  ended  we  had  lost  hy  death  five  dearly  beloved 
members:  Thomas  W.  Grover,  Fletcher  S.  Bassett,  Dr. 
William  F.  Poole,  Dr.  Charles  Oilman  Smith,  and  Major 
Kirkland.  Even  after  the  lapse  of  thirty  years  we  cannot 
think  of  these  men  without  a  pang  that  they  were  called 
from  us  so  soon.  The  club  owes  much  to  them,  and  espe- 
cially to  Dr.  Poole,  for  his  influence  in  shaping  its  original 
policy.  As  Edward  Mason  said  of  him  in  the  memorial 
biography  printed  by  the  club: 

"If  he  was  a  man  to  be  admired  for  his  attainments, 
still  more  was  he  to  be  loved  for  his  character,  which  was 
formed  for  friendship.  Impatient  of  shallow  and  trifling 
natures,  it  was  not  easy  for  all  to  approach  him  on  familiar 
terms,  but  those  once  admitted  to  his  friendship  he  held 
in  a  life-long  intimacy.  His  personality  still  seems  to 
pervade  this  place  and  all  the  places  where  he  was  best 
known,  so  that  one  thinks  of  him  as  of  a  friend  absent 
on  a  journey.  When  death  shall  have  extinguished  these 
personal  memories  and  associations  he  will  continue  to 
be  known  as  he  rightfully  expected  finally  to  be  known, 
by  the  writings  which  he  published." 

To  those  of  us  who  knew  the  club  while  these  men  were 
living  this  will  not  seem  an  overstatement.  And  with 
memories  of  Dr.  Poole  there  will  come  to  mind  equally 
vivid  recollections  of  Dr.  Charles  Smith  and  Major 
Kirkland.  Both  were  men  of  unforgettable  individuality. 
As  unlike  as  possible  in  personal  appearance,  bearing, 
and  manner  of  speech,  as  well  as  in  vocation,  they  were 
yet  alike  in  that  both  were  distinguished  by  innate  force 

[  159  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

of  character,  gentleness  of  spirit,  and  remarkable  freedom 
from  rancor.  Both  also  were  endowed  with  a  keen  sense 
of  humor  and  capacity  for  strong  friendship.  They  were 
indeed  good  comrades,  tried  and  true,  whom  their  many 
friends  in  the  club  missed  sadly  when  they  were  taken 
away. 

Lieutenant  Bassett  was  also  a  man  of  fine  character 
and  social  charm  but  his  connection  with  the  club  was 
too  short  for  the  formation  of  the  deep  ties  that  doubt- 
less would  have  bound  him  to  many  had  his  life  been 
spared  a  little  longer.  Of  Tom  Grover,  the  writer  can 
only  say  that  no  words  could  possibly  put  him  before 
those  who  never  knew  him,  and  that  his  memory  is  en- 
shrined in  the  hearts  of  those  who  did  know  him. 

In  May,  1894,  William  Eliot  Furness  was  elected  presi- 
dent. A  few  days  before  the  meetings  were  resumed  after 
the  summer  recess,  death  took  from  the  club  another  of 
its  most  loved  and  honored  members.  Professor  David 
Swing.  The  story  of  his  life  is  briefly  told  in  the  memorial 
biography  printed  by  the  club.  In  it  the  authors  while 
expressing  the  admiration  we  all  had  for  his  rare  intel- 
lectual endowment,  for  "the  breadth  of  view,  the  pro- 
found scholarship,  the  exquisite  mastery  of  language,  the 
literary  touch,  the  dainty  wit  and  sarcasm  and  the  sov- 
ereign poetic  fancy  which  irradiated  all"  of  his  writings, 
well  said  that  to  his  many  friends  "it  was  his  heart  that 
was  greatest.  These  knew  most  the  breadth  of  his  love 
and  charity,  the  purity  of  his  thought  and  life.  They  saw 
most  of  the  genial  wit  and  sarcasm,  exquisite  and  unique 
as  that  of  Charles  Lamb,  but  ever  without  sting  or  bit- 
terness. For  them  a  great  light  has  gone  out,  and  the 

[  160  ] 


Tributes  to  Swing  and  Norton 

world  which  has  been  enriched  and  made  beautiful  by 
this  benignant  presence  can  to  them  be  nevermore  the 
same."  Well  may  we  be  proud  that  his  name  is  inscribed 
upon  our  membership  roll,  that  he  valued  the  association 
with  congenial  spirits  which  this  club  gave  him  as  among 
the  greatest  joys  that  he  knew,  and  that  for  the  club 
much  of  his  finest  literary  work  was  done. 

The  only  notable  thing  about  the  season  of  1 894-1 895 
was  a  marked  increase  in  the  attendance.  For  the  first 
five  months  of  the  next  season  Rev.  Dr.  John  H.  Barrows 
was  our  president,  but  at  the  end  of  February,  1 896,  hav- 
ing decided  to  make  a  trip  around  the  world  he  resigned 
and  Ephraim  A.  Otis  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy  for 
the  remainder  of  the  year.  The  most  striking  feature  of 
what  was  a  most  successful  season  was  a  series  of  sym- 
posiums by  business  men,  lawyers,  architects,  clergymen, 
physicians,  journalists,  teachers,  and  gentlemen  of  lei- 
sure, one  on  each  of  the  eight  months  of  the  club  year,  an 
innovation  that  gave  much  appreciated  variety  to  the 
literary  exercises. 

In  1 896-1 897  General  George  W.  Smith  was  our  pre- 
siding ofiicer.  It  was  a  season  that  passed  smoothly  and 
without  any  occurrences  out  of  the  ordinary.  Mention 
must  be  made,  however,  of  the  meeting  held  in  March, 
1897,  in  memory  of  James  Sager  Norton  who  had  died  on 
the  17th  of  the  preceding  September  after  a  long  illness 
attended  by  great  suffering.  At  this  meeting  many  trib- 
utes were  made  to  his  noble  qualities  of  mind  and  heart 
and  many  of  his  brilliant  and  witty  sayings  were  recalled. 
This  it  was  felt  was  in  keeping  with  what  he  would 
have  wished,  for  even  while  racked  by  agonizing  pain  his 

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The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

humor  and  sparkling  wit  did  not  desert  him,  and  "to  the 
end  he  retained  his  clear  intellectual  faculties  and  his 
interest  in  his  friends  and  their  affairs."  It  was  not  only 
the  brilliance  of  his  intellect  that  made  us  so  fond  and  so 
proud  of  him.  To  quote  the  language  of  the  memorial 
biography  printed  by  the  club:  "Beyond  his  quaint 
humor,  keen  wit,  and  good  fellowship,  his  sound  judg- 
ment, absolute  integrity  and  the  justness  of  his  views 
endeared  him  to  all  those  who  knew  him  well."  The 
club  will  always  be  under  deep  obligation  to  him  for  his 
part  in  its  continued  success  and  the  maintenance  of  its 
high  literary  standard. 

Under  the  presidency  of  General  Joseph  B.  Leake  the 
club  had  another  highly  enjoyable  season  in  1897 -1898.  ^ 
paper  by  Frederic  W.  Root  entitled  "The  Real  American 
Music"  gave  so  much  pleasure  when  he  read  it  in  October 
that  by  special  request  he  repeated  it  at  the  ladies'  night 
meeting  a  month  later.  On  November  i  our  first  president 
Rev.  Robert  Collyer  made  us  another  visit,  gave  a  few 
recollections  of  the  founding  of  the  club  and  presented 
to  us  the  portrait  of  himself  which  has  ever  since  hung 
upon  our  walls.  It  was  painted  by  Percival  de  Luce  and 
is  a  replica  of  another  that  he  painted  in  1882  and  there- 
fore represents  Mr.  Collyer  as  he  was  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
nine. 

In  arranging  the  Scheme  of  Exercises  for  this  season 
it  was  thought  that  it  would  be  well  to  enliven  the  pro- 
gramme by  injecting  a  little  fun  into  it.  Accordingly  one 
evening  in  November  was  devoted  to  the  telling  of  "Fish 
Stories,"  in  which  seventeen  members  took  part.  For  this 
meeting,  instead  of  the  usual  post-card  announcing  the 

[    162   1 


Enlivening  the  Programme 

exercises,  a  special  card  of  larger  size  was  mailed  to  the 
members.  It  was  printed  on  pink  cardboard  and  bore  a 
sketch  by  Irving  K.  Pond,  of  a  whale  swimming  in  a  sea 
of  lies,  and,  standing  on  the  beach  in  the  foreground,  a 
modern  Jonah  shouting  the  tale  of  his  deliverance.  This 
shocked  the  sensibilities  of  a  few  of  our  members  who 
regarded  it  as  sacrilegious;  but  by  most  of  our  number 
it  was  rightly  looked  upon  and  enjoyed  as  only  a  bit  of 
pure  fun. 

On  February  28,  i898,"EinSchmierer-kunst-bildfest" 
was  held.  This  took  the  form  of  an  exhibition  of  more  or 
less  comic  "Expressionist  pictures"  drawn  or  painted, 
with  only  a  few  exceptions,  by  members  of  the  club.  After 
listening  to  three  whimsical  papers  on  "The  Entire  His- 
tory of  Art,"  "Some  Local  Discoveries  and  Applications  of 
Art,"  and  "The  Last  Expression  of  Art,"the  members  and 
their  guests  adjourned  to  the  assembly  room  to  view 
the  pictures  which  were  displayed  upon  screens  that  had 
been  erected  around  three  sides  of  the  room.  A  catalogue 
called  an  "Expose  of  Exceptional  Expressionism"  had 
been  printed  and  copies  were  given  to  all  present.  In  it 
the  pictures  "not  to  be  spoken  of  elsewhere  lest  the  dig- 
nity of  the  club  be  derogated,"  were  all  attributed  to 
members  who  had  nothing  to  do  with  their  making,  and 
thedescriptions  were  accompanied  by  facetious  comments 
with  the  names  of  members  who  did  not  write  them  ap- 
pended thereto.  To  give  a  little  idea  of  their  character 
one  of  these  descriptions  is  here  reprinted.  It  is  regrettable 
that  with  it  a  reproduction  of  the  picture  cannot  also  be 
given.  It  was  a  standing  figure  of  a  gorgeously  dressed 
woman. 

[  163  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

POND,  IRVING  KANE 

Pupil  of  Angelo  and  Wrenn  (now  dead) :  has  been  known  to  speak  well  of  the 
worksofthese  gentlemen  and  of  Ictinus  (who  also  is  dead).  Eleve  du  Gymnase 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  where  he  received  a  black  eye  and  other  decorations  at  the 
January  Salon,  1898, 

30  An  Elizabeth— Ann  Manshun. 

"This  is  the  principal  expose  of  one  of  our  most  notorious  painter 
architects.  While  as  a  picture  it  may  be  a  work  of  art,  as  an  archi- 
tectural composition  it  is  a  flat  failure.  The  fenestration  is  frivolous 
and  the  massing  mountainous.  The  pattern  in  the  frieze  is  too  warm 
in  tone  and  besides  it  is  misplaced.  It  would  be  more  appropriate 
under  a  bay  window  or  just  above  the  underpinning.  Manshun! 
Why  shun?  Why  not  'pity,  then  embrace?'  That  is  the  attitude  of 
the  public  toward  architecture — not  pity,  but  embrace — swallow 
with  relish  any  truck,  however  tasteless.  Elizabeth-Ann!  Wherein 
lies  the  appropriateness?  Why  not,  rather,  Yvette-Susanne?  Pooh, 
Pooh,  Pah! 

—  Clarence  A.  Bur  ley." 

This  exhibition  was  so  successful  and  caused  so  much 
merriment  that  it  was  kept  in  place  for  a  fortnight  and 
was  visited  daily  during  that  period  by  many  of  the  mem- 
bers and  their  friends. 

The  outstanding  feature  of  the  next  season,  that  of 
1 898-1 899  when  Judge  Henry  V.  Freeman  was  the  presi- 
dent, was  the  meeting  on  March  13,  1899,  when  ninety- 
five  members  and  two  guests  gathered  to  celebrate  the 
twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  founding  of  the  club. 
Personal  recollections  of  the  members  and  happenings 
in  the  bygone  days  were  given  in  papers  by  Dr.  James 
Nevins  Hyde  and  Judge  Edward  O.  Brown,  in  addresses 
by  William  M.  R.  French  and  Franklin  H.  Head,  and  in 
an  amusing  letter  from  Major  Henry  A.  Huntington.  All 
of  these  have  been  utilized  in  the  preparation  of  this  his- 
tory and  whenever  possible  the  writers'  and  speakers' 

[  164  ] 


In  Memory  of  Edward  Mason 

words  have  been  quoted.  Alas,  neither  Edward  G.  Mason, 
James  L.  High,  General  George  W.  Smith,  Lewis  H. 
Boutell,  nor  Daniel  L.  Shorey  were  present  at  this  meet- 
ing, all  of  them  having  died  earlier  in  the  month  or  in  the 
preceding  October  and  January.  The  death  of  Ned  Mason 
did  not  come  to  us  as  a  surprise  for  he  had  been  broken  in 
health  for  some  time, but  it  sorely  grieved  his  many  friends 
in  the  club  which  he  had  such  a  large  part  in  founding  and 
which  beloved  so  dearly.  Mason  was  pre-eminently  a  club- 
able  man.  He  was  truly  a  prince  of  good  fellows,  intellec- 
tually alert,  keen,  quick  witted,  widely  read,  scholarly  in 
his  tastes,  deeply  appreciative  of  the  niceties  of  literature, 
and  not  lacking  in  sense  of  humor.  He  was  always  ready  to 
do  his  full  share  in  writing  papers  for  the  club  and  in  mak- 
ing addresses  when  occasion  required,  and  this  he  never 
failed  todo  in  a  way  thatshed  luster  upon  the  club  and  upon 
himself.  His  interest  in  the  history  of  Illinois  led  him  to 
undertake  most  thorough  and  careful  investigation  of 
imperfectly  known  early  periods  and  happenings,  and  it 
is  much  to  be  regretted  that  business  cares  and  respon- 
sibilities left  him  insufficient  leisure  to  carry  these  in- 
vestigations further  and  to  make  possible  the  complete 
history  of  the  state  he  was  so  well  fitted  to  write.  But 
when  he  passed  away  it  was  not  because  of  the  unfinished 
tasks  that  we  mourned;  it  was  because  the  tender  ties  that 
bound  us  to  one  that  we  loved  and  esteemed  had  been 
severed,  and  we  should  never  again  be  cheered  by  his 
kindly  presence  at  our  Monday  evening  gatherings. 

In  what  regard  the  members  of  the  club  held  Mr.  High 
has  already  been  related.  General  Smith,  Mr.  Boutell,  and 
Mr.  Shorey  were  also  men  whom  we  revered  and  had 

[  165  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

honored  with  the  highest  office  in  our  gift.  Their  sterling 
qualities  and  genial  presence  bound  us  to  them  by  the 
strongest  ties.  This  can  be  said  also  of  Colonel  Charles 
Wilder  Davis  whose  name  with  theirs  had  to  be  trans- 
ferred to  the  roll  of  members  deceased  in  the  same  year. 
And  he  too  had  many  warm  friends  in  the  club  which  he 
had  joined  only  the  year  before.  To  Daniel  Lewis  Shorey 
the  club  owes  much.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest  and 
always  one  of  the  most  faithful  and  devoted  members. 
From  the  beginning  he  strove  to  hold  the  club  to  the 
highest  standard,  and  in  his  own  life  he  exemplified  the 
value  of  the  things  of  the  spirit,  of  worthy  and  inspiring 
thought,  and  of  the  joys  that  the  best  literature  holds  for 
those  who  have  learned  to  appreciate  it. 

During  the  next  seven  seasons  the  club  pursued  "the 
even  tenor  of  its  way,"  giving  great  pleasure  to  all  who 
were  connected  with  it.  Many  brilliant  papers  were  read 
and  there  was  no  flagging  in  the  rare  good  fellowship  that 
has  ever  been  its  charm.  But  of  events  that  should  be 
specially  mentioned  there  were  very  few.  Of  the  season 
of  1 899-1900  it  may  be  noted  that  toward  its  end  an 
amendment  to  the  by-laws  was  adopted  shortening  the 
club  season  by  doing  away  with  the  June  meetings.  And 
at  the  meeting  held  on  October  9,  1899,  the  streets  ad- 
jacent to  the  University  Club  were  so  blocked  by  crowds 
of  people  waiting  to  see  a  procession  that  only  twenty- 
one  members  succeeded  in  getting  to  the  club  rooms. 
Many  others  failed  in  their  attempts,  and  the  essayist, 
Henry  Sherman  Boutell,  reported  that  he  made  several 
futile  efforts  before  he  finally  managed,  with  a  police- 
man's assistance,  to  reach  the  alley  at  the  rear  of  the 

[    166  1 


Cherished  Comrades 


building  and  then  with  some  difficulty  crawled  through  a 
small  window  into  the  coal  cellar  from  which  after  paus- 
ing at  one  of  the  lavatories  he  made  his  way  upstairs. 

In  this  year  when  Major  George  Laban  Paddock  was 
the  president,  we  lost  by  death  only  one  member,  Norman 
Williams,  but  he  was  another  of  the  good  fellows  and 
cherished  comrades  of  the  early  years.  In  the  succeeding 
year  we  were  saddened  by  the  death  of  five  choice  spirits 
to  whom  we  were  deeply  attached:  General  Alexander 
C.  McClurg,  Colonel  Huntington  \V.  Jackson,  Charles 
W.  Fullerton,  Aldace  F.  Walker,  and  Samuel  H.  Wright. 
Better  friends  than  were  these  men  we  never  had.  Fuller- 
ton's  love  for  the  club  found  expression  in  a  bequest  to 
buy  books  for  our  library.  McClurg  and  Jackson  were 
first-year  members  who  were  ever  eager  in  their  efforts 
to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  club  in  all  ways  that  they 
could.  Until  they  were  incapacitated  by  mortal  illness 
they  were  most  constant  in  their  attendance.  To  come 
to  the  meetings  whenever  possible  was  recognized  by 
them  as  an  obligation  that  every  member  owes  to  his  fel- 
lows. And  it  was  because  they  and  others  of  their  kind  did 
come,  that  the  meetings  were  so  delightful.  The  five  whose 
names  have  just  been  mentioned  were  all  rare  men.  It 
is  regrettable  that  of  Colonel  Jackson  alone,  a  memorial 
biography  was  printed.  The  omission  does  not  signify 
failure  to  appreciate  the  worth  of  the  others  nor  any  lack 
of  affection  for  them,  but  only  this,  that  after  the  tribute 
to  Jackson  had  been  printed  it  was  found  necessary  for 
financial  reasons  to  give  up  the  custom  of  printing  these 
biographies.  At  that  time  no  one  had  thought  that  they 
might  without  much  expense  be  printed  in  the  year  books. 

[   >67  1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

In  what  regard  General  McClurg  was  held  has  been 
related  in  a  previous  chapter.  Colonel  Jackson  also  was 
greatly  beloved.  His  manly  qualities,  courtly  yet  modest 
bearing,  inflexible  integrity,  and  gracious  manner  could 
not  fail  to  impress  all  who  were  brought  in  contact  with 
him.  In  the  Civil  War  he  had  served  with  distinction.  As 
a  lawyer  he  attained  high  standing.  The  reason  why  his 
name  does  not  appear  in  the  list  of  presidents  of  the  club 
is  that  he  always  declined  to  accept  the  nominations  that 
were  tendered  him  again  and  again. 

In  1 900-1 901,  Samuel  Sewall  Greeley,  another  of  our 
early  members,  a  man  of  noble  character,  who  by  his 
sturdy  independence,  simple  dignity,  and  unfailing  cour- 
tesy won  the  hearts  of  many  friends  and  held  their  alle- 
giance through  the  exceptionally  long  span  of  his  life,  was 
president  of  the  club.  The  winter  of  1900-1901  was  a 
severe  one.  In  February  a  great  accumulation  of  ice  was 
piled  high  by  the  waves  along  the  west  shore  of  Lake 
Michigan.  The  fantastic  shapes  of  some  of  the  ice  mounds 
afforded  enterprising  photographers  an  unusual  oppor- 
tunity, and  some  of  our  members  will  recall  with  pleasure 
the  "Report  on  Recent  Explorations  in  the  Sub-Polar 
Regions  of  Cook  County,  with  Ethnographic  Notes  upon 
the  Tribes  Inhabiting  the  Mountainous  Portions  There- 
of," illustrated  with  views,  maps,  and  specimens,  by 
Frederick  Greeley  and  Dr.  Charles  Gordon  Fuller,  which 
was  presented  at  the  meeting  held  on  April  22,  1 901.  The 
next  meeting  was  a  ladies'  night  when  Clarence  Burley 
read  "An  Essay  in  ^Esthetic  Culture,"  illustrated  with 
lantern  slides  from  pictures  drawn  by  two  members  of 
the  club  caricaturing  the  titles  of  all  the  papers  read  or 

[  168  ] 


A  Gift  for  the  Club  Library 

still  to  be  read  during  the  season.  An  illustrated  catalogue 
was  printed  and  the  pictures  were  exhibited  in  the  club 
rooms,  but  the  exhibition  was  not  as  successful  as  the 
one  held  in  1898. 

Until  1 901  the  club  library  which  had  been  started  in 
1888  at  the  instance  of  Dr.  William  F.  Poole  when  we 
moved  into  the  rooms  in  the  Art  Institute  Building,  con- 
sisted chiefly  of  works  of  reference  and  bound  volumes 
of  periodicals,  with  a  few  books  by  members  of  the  club 
presented  by  their  authors.  When,  in  December  1900, 
Charles  W.  Fullerton  who  had  been  a  faithful  member 
for  nearly  twenty  years,  passed  away,  it  was  learned  that 
by  his  will  he  had  given  the  club  a  legacy  of  five  hundred 
dollars  "to  buy  books  for  the  library."  This  led  to  the 
purchase  from  time  to  time  of  desirable  works,  and  a  little 
later,  to  the  making  of  an  efl^ort  to  form  a  collection,  as 
complete  as  possible,  of  books  and  pamphlets  written  by 
our  members.  This  collection,  though  far  from  complete, 
has  now  grown  to  quite  respectable  proportions  and 
is  rightly  regarded  as  a  treasured  possession.  It  should 
be  added  to  whenever  books  by  our  members,  of  which 
we  do  not  have  copies,  can  be  acquired. 

Edwin  Burritt  Smith  was  president  ofthe  club  in  1901- 
1902.  His  inaugural  address  entitled  "The  Confused 
West:  a  Literary  Forecast"  was  printed  in  the  memo- 
rial volume  of  his  "Essays  and  Addresses"  published  by 
A.  C.  McClurg  &  Co.  in  1909.  No  very  notable  events 
occurred  during  that  season  or  the  following  when  Clar- 
ence Burley  was  the  presiding  oflicer.  In  1903-1904  Judge 
Arba  Nelson  Waterman  was  our  president.  An  innova- 
tion that  proved  highly  successful  was  a  series  of  four 

[    169  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

informal  dinners  in  as  many  months.  These  were  served 
in  what  had  heretofore  been  the  audience  room  but  had 
then  been  turned  into  a  supper  room,  the  large  assembly 
room  being  used  for  the  literary  exercises  notwithstand- 
ing the  annoyance  of  street  noises  which  were  much  in 
evidence.  In  that  front  room  twenty-nine  members  were 
assembled  on  the  evening  of  April  25,  1904,  and  William 
Morton  Payne  was  reading  a  paper  on  "Literary  Criti- 
cism in  the  United  States"  when  fire  broke  out  in  the 
shaft  of  the  dumb-waiter  in  the  rear  room.  The  blaze  was 
a  threatening  one  but  fortunately  it  was  extinguished 
before  much  damage  was  done.  In  the  few  minutes  before 
the  firemen  arrived,  and  when  it  appeared  that  the  build- 
ing was  doomed,  an  effort  was  made  to  save  some  of  the 
club  property.  George  C.  Rowland  carried  to  the  Tribune 
Building  for  safety  the  large  portrait  of  his  uncle  George 
Rowland,  which  had  been  given  to  the  club  by  him  and 
his  uncle  Walter  M.  Rowland  in  1894.  The  portraits  of 
ex-presidents  Collyer  and  Larned  were  by  Morton  Rull 
and  Irving  Pond  carried  across  Dearborn  Street  to  a 
saloon  where  they  were  bestowed  for  the  night.  So  far  as 
the  Literary  Club  was  concerned,  the  damage  caused  by 
the  fire  and  the  firemen  was  confined  to  the  rear  room. 
The  decorations  were  ruined,  the  carpet  was  badly  soiled 
and  wet,  and  various  small  articles  were  lost  or  injured. 
Chief  among  the  things  lost  was  the  historic  gavel  made 
from  a  piece  of  the  keel  of  the  U.  S.  ship  "Kearsarge" 
which  was  given  to  the  club  by  Lieutenant  Fletcher  S. 
Basett  and  had  been  used  at  our  meetings  for  fifteen 
years  or  more. 

Among  the  members  taken  from  the  club  by  death 

[    170  ] 


In  Memory  of  Hknry  Lloyd 

during  1903  and  1904  were  two  ex-presldents,  Clinton 
Locke  and  Brooke  Herford,  who  had  removed  from  Chi- 
cago in  1882,  first  to  Boston  and  thence,  in  1892,  to  Lon- 
don. And  in  September,  1903,  we  had  suffered  another 
grievous  loss  in  the  death  of  Henry  Demarest  Lloyd, 
who  had  been  a  member  since  June,  1B74.  Lloyd  was  a 
man  who  was  animated  by  high  aims  which  he  pursued 
with  unflinching  devotion  and  to  which  he  gave  his  life. 
His  heart  went  out  in  deepest  sympathy  to  those  of  his 
fellows  whom  he  looked  upon  not  as  sufferers  from  their 
own  shortcomings  but  as  the  victims  of  a  wrong  social 
system;  and  he  felt  it  his  mission  to  plead  their  cause 
with  all  his  might.  He  was  an  earnest  student,  a  close 
thinker,  and  an  effective  writer  and  speaker.  His  style  was 
vigorous  and  incisive  and  he  was  a  master  of  telling 
phrase.  These  qualities  alone  were  enough  to  gain  for  him 
a  wide  audience.  His  fame,  indeed,  was  world-wide.  In  the 
club  he  had  many  warm  friends  and  admirers.  All  of  the 
members  respected  his  integrity  of  mind  and  purpose  so 
highly  that  whether  the  remedies  for  social  ills  that  he 
advocated  seemed  to  them  worthy  of  consideration  or 
hopelessly  futile,  they  were  always  willing  to  listen  to  him 
attentively.  His  absorption  in  a  serious  purpose  did  not 
prevent  him  from  being  a  delightful  companion  but  it 
did  undermine  his  health  and  caused  him  to  pass  away 
when  he  should  have  been  just  in  his  prime. 

The  season  of  1904— 1905,  when  Frederic  W.  Root  was 
president,  was  a  brilliant  one.  At  the  ladies'  night  on 
October  31,  1904,  Hiromichi  Shugio,  the  Japanese  Com- 
missioner for  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition  held 
that  year  in  St.  Louis,  was  our  guest  and  read  a  paper 

[    171    ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

on  "The  Japanese  Exhibits"  at  that  exposition.  Another 
ladies'  night  meeting  was  held  on  January  30,  1 905,  when 
William  Rainey  Harper  read  a  paper  entitled  "Semitic 
Legal  Literature  as  Illustrated  by  the  Code  of  Hammu- 
rabi." The  informal  dinners  of  the  preceding  season  had 
given  so  much  satisfaction  that  the  custom  was  continued 
during  this  season  and  the  next.  At  one  of  them,  on  No- 
vember 7,  1904,  a  silver  loving  cup  was  presented  to  the 
club  by  George  H.Holt.  The  next  dinner,  on  December 
5,  was  made  memorable  by  the  symposium  on  "Religious 
Views"  which  followed  it:  President  Root  made  an  intro- 
ductory address;  Edward  O.  Brown  read  "A  Catholic's 
Contribution";  L.  Wilbur  Messer  set  forth  "Funda- 
mental Religious  Truths  as  Applied  in  Life";  Louis  F. 
Post  gave  "A  Non-ecclesiastical  Confession  of  Religious 
Faith";  and  Joseph  Stolz  offered  "The  Message  of  Juda- 
ism to  the  Twentieth  Century."  These  papers  attracted 
so  much  attention  that  in  April  they  were  printed  by  the 
club.  In  May  we  were  saddened  by  the  death  of  Julius 
Rosenthal,  a  member  whom  we  all  held  in  the  highest 
regard  and  affection.  He  was  a  man  of  the  purest  char- 
acter. His  devotion  to  the  higher  things  of  the  spirit  was 
constant  throughout  his  life  and  was  an  inspiration  to  all 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  No  one  who  was  privileged 
to  know  him  can  ever  forget  his  gentle  manner  and  person- 
al charm,  nor  the  quiet  dignity  that  was  the  outward  ex- 
pression of  the  inner  man,  and  which  always  commanded 
both  admiration  and  respect. 

The  last  meeting  of  the  season  was  devoted  to  con- 
sideration of  the  affairs  of  the  club  and  its  policy  past 
and  present.  The  movement  then  on  foot  for  a  new  build- 

[   172  ] 


Mr.  Collyer's  Last  Visit 


ing  for  the  University  Club  had  progressed  so  far  as  to 
make  it  probable  that  before  long  it  would  become  neces- 
sary to  seek  other  quarters  for  the  Literary  Club.  In 
the  discussion  of  club  customs  and  policy  one  member 
aroused  a  storm  of  protest  by  advocating  a  radical  change 
which  should  take  the  form  of  more  active  participation 
in  public  affairs,  and  Sigmund  Zeisler  was  warmly  ap- 
plauded when  he  expressed  the  sentiment  of  almost  all 
who  were  present,  that  "the  greatest  charm  and  value 
of  the  club  is  that  it  does  not  stand  for  any  idea  or  prop- 
aganda whatsoever." 

The  season  of  1905-1906  was,  like  many  others,  nota- 
ble for  the  variety  and  interest  of  the  papers  that  were 
read.  And  the  annual  reunion  and  dinner  on  October 
9,  1905,  when  George  H.  Holt  delivered  his  inaugural 
address  as  president,  was  made  memorable  by  the  pres- 
ence of  Rev.  Robert  CoUyer  who  had  come  from  New 
York  by  special  invitation  to  attend  the  meeting.  "With 
all  his  old  time  pathos  and  fervor"  he  addressed  us  "mak- 
ing us  feel  that  we  were  still  the  comrades  and  friends  of 
the  bygone  days"  of  which  he  gave  delightful  reminis- 
cences. He  was  then  nearly  eighty-three,  but  mentally 
and  physically  vigorous,  and  his  stalwart  figure,  rugged 
features,  engaging  smile  and  contagious  enthusiasm  made 
the  same  impression  upon  his  hearers  that  they  always 
did  when  he  was  with  us.  As  it  turned  out  this  was  his  last 
visit  to  Chicago  though  he  lived  for  seven  years  there- 
after. 

At  the  informal  dinner  on  November  6,  1905,  Presi- 
dent Holt  announced  that  the  speakers  would  be  limited 
to  exactly  five  minutes  each  and  he  introduced  what  he 

[    173   ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

called  "the  automatic  chairman"  a  clock  which  could  be 
set  at  the  beginning  of  a  speech  and  would  ring  an  alarm 
bell  when  five  minutes  had  elapsed.  This  helped  to  make 
the  discussions  lively.  By  this  time  the  University  Club 
Building  project  was  well  under  way  and  our  commit- 
tee on  rooms  and  finance  was  seeking  other  quarters 
for  us.  At  the  business  meeting  in  November,  Frederick 
Greeley,  the  chairman,  reported  that  it  had  not  suc- 
ceeded in  finding  any  that  would  serve.  On  the  evening 
of  March  12,  however,  when  Bishop  Cheney  read  his 
paper  on  "The  Second  Norman  Conquest  of  England," 
President  Holt  announced  that  the  space  (about  2200 
square  feet)  on  the  sixth  floor  of  the  Orchestra  Building 
on  Michigan  Avenue,  occupied  during  the  past  year  by 
the  McCormick  estate,  had  been  leased  by  the  club  at  a 
rental  of  $2,900  a  year  for  four  years.  He  also  announced 
that  negotiations  were  pending  for  the  exchange  of  this 
space  for  other  space  on  the  eighth  floor  of  the  building. 
The  last  meeting  of  our  thirteen  years'  occupancy  of 
the  rooms  in  the  old  University  Club  Building  was  the 
ladies'  night,  April  30,  1906,  when  Paul  Shorey  read  a 
paper  entitled  "Some  Modernisms  of  the  Ancients."  On 
account  of  our  removal  to  the  new  quarters,  the  meeting 
scheduled  for  May  7  had  to  be  omitted;  but  a  week  later 
thirty-five  members  gathered  in  the  rooms  in  the  Orches- 
tra Building  which  were  not  yet  in  order,  and  President 
Holt  announced  that  negotiations  with  the  agents  of  the 
building  looking  toward  an  exchange  of  the  space  on 
the  sixth  floor  for  equal  space  on  the  eighth  floor  and  the 
construction  during  the  summer  of  an  assembly  hall  for 
the  joint  use  of  the  Chicago  Literary  Club  and  the  Cax- 

[  174 1 


Dkath  of  Kdwin  Burritt  Smith 

ton  Club  had  progressed  so  far  that  most  of  the  details 
had  been  arranged.  He  then  made  the  sad  announcement 
of  the  death  of  Edwin  Burritt  Smith  and  stated  that  a 
memorial  meeting  in  his  honor  would  be  held  on  Sunday 
May  20,  at  the  University  Congregational  Church. 

To  many  of  our  members  the  death  of  Mr.  Smith 
brought  poignant  sorrow.  Their  relations  with  him  had 
been  unusually  close  and  the  friendship  thus  engendered 
was  founded  upon  deep  affection  and  esteem.  The  club 
had  been  glad  to  honor  him  with  its  highest  office.  He 
was  a  singularly  self-sacrificing,  courageous,  and  public- 
spirited  man.  The  best  that  was  in  him  he  gave  freely 
and  fully  to  the  service  of  the  community ;  his  early  death 
was  a  public  misfortune  as  well  as  a  severe  blow  to  those 
privileged  to  know  him  intimately.  His  firm  grip  upon 
abiding  principles  gave  enduring  value  to  the  papers  and 
addresses  upon  municipal  and  national  afl^airs  which  he 
wrote,  and  the  volume  in  which  they  were  published  in 
1909  deserves  to  be  widely  known.  A  copy  of  it  is  in  the 
club  library. 

On  May  28,  1906,  by  invitation  of  President  Holt,  the 
meeting  which  was  the  last  of  the  season  was  held  at 
the  Onwentsia  Club  in  Lake  Forest,  where  seventy-four 
members  were  his  guests  at  dinner.  At  this  meeting 
Franklin  MacVeagh  was  elected  president  for  the  ensuing 
year;  Eugene  E.  Prussing  read  "Some  Personal  Remi- 
niscences of  Edwin  Burritt  Smith"  and  Horace  Martin 
read  a  paper  on  "American  Literary  Criticism." 


[  175 1 


Chapter  XII 

THE  rooms  in  the  Orchestra  Building  had  been 
chosen  not  because  they  were  what  we  wanted 
but  because  the  rooms  committee  had  failed  to 
find  an  entirely  suitable  suite  elsewhere  in  a  location 
that  would  meet  all  requirements  and  at  a  rental  within 
our  means.  During  the  latter  years  of  the  club's  occu- 
pancy of  the  rooms  in  the  University  Club  Building  there 
was  much  open  expression  of  dissatisfaction  with  them, 
admirably  suited  to  our  purposes  as  they  were  in  many 
respects.  This  dissatisfaction  was  frequently  alleged  as  a 
reason  for  not  attending  the  meetings,  and  finally  became 
so  marked  that  our  migration  took  place  a  year  or  more 
earlier  than  was  necessary.  The  expectation  when  the 
quarters  in  the  Orchestra  Building  weie  taken,  that  an 
arrangement  could  be  consummated  for  an  exchange  for 
space  on  the  eighth  floor  adapted  for  the  joint  use  of  the 
Literary  Club  and  the  Caxton  Club  proved  to  be  a  vain 
one,  as  the  agents  of  the  building  refused  to  make  terms 
that  the  clubs  could  accept.  Not  until  August  were  the 
negotiations  terminated.  Then  it  became  necessary  to  see 
what  could  be  done  to  fit  up  the  space  we  held  under 
lease.  At  first  glance  it  seemed  impossible  to  make  it 
available  for  our  use.  The  problems  it  presented  were 
many,  but  happily  Irving  Pond  who  was  engaged  to 
wrestle  with  them  succeeded  in  solving  them  all,  and, 
after  a  lot  of  hard  work  they  were  ready  for  occupancy 
when  the  season  opened.  The  rooms  could  not  be  made 

[   1/6  ] 


o 


Ix  THE  Orchestra  Building 

entirely  satisfactory,  but  unlike  those  from  which  we  had 
moved,  which  had  become  hopelessly  dirty,  they  were 
clean,  and  with  a  competent  woman  as  housekeeper  and 
custodian  they  were  well  kept.  Here  it  may  be  recorded 
that  Mrs.  Mary  Green  who  was  then  engaged  and  has 
been  continuously  employed  by  the  club  ever  since  has 
been  and  still  is  a  most  faithful  and  efficient  servant. 

It  was  not  possible  to  hold  the  annual  reunions  and 
dinners  in  these  rooms.  Therefore  these  meetings,  at 
which  the  inaugural  addresses  of  President  Mac^'eagh, 
and  of  his  successors  in  the  following  years,  Charles  L. 
Hutchinson  and  Bishop  Charles  Edward  Cheney,  were 
delivered,  were  held  in  the  dining  room  of  the  University 
Club.  And  the  meeting  on  October  9,  1909,  when  Presi- 
dent Edward  O.  Brown  delivered  his  inaugural  address, 
was  held  at  the  Cliff  Dwellers. 

The  four  years  ot  our  occupancy  of  the  quarters  in  the 
Orchestra  Building  were  pleasant  despite  the  obvious 
fact  that  the  rooms  were  not  satisfactory.  Of  the  meet- 
ings the  only  one  decidedly  out  of  the  ordinary  was  that 
on  December  13, 1909,  when  George  H.Holt  read  a  paper 
entitled  "Painting  by  Sunlight,"  and  was  followed  by 
his  and  the  club's  guest  F.  E.  Iv^es,  the  inventor  of  the 
three-color  process,  who  told  the  story  of  color-photog- 
raphy and  with  the  aid  of  several  lanterns  exhibited  its 
results.  Mr.  Holt's  paper,  however,  was  only  one  of  many 
notable  ones  that  weie  read  during  these  years.  William 
Morton  Payne's  "A  Quarter  Century  of  English  Litera- 
ture" was  printed  by  the  club.  Others,  equally  worthy 
of  that  distinction,  written  by  members,  whom  happily 
we  still  have  with  us,  will  readily  be  recalled  by  those 

[    >77   1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

who  heard  them  read.  One  of  the  things  that  stand  out 
most  conspicuously  when  we  think  of  the  evenings  spent 
in  those  rooms  was  the  part  played  by  Pliny  Smith  in 
making  the  meetings  enjoyable.  Always  first  to  hasten 
to  the  supper  room  when  the  literary  exercises  were 
over  and  to  take  an  accustomed  place  at  a  round  table 
in  one  corner,  he  contrived  to  draw  about  him  a  con- 
genial company  and  so  to  stimulate  the  spirit  of  good 
fellowship  as  to  make  seats  at  the  table  eagerly  coveted. 
And  many  for  whom  there  were  not  enough  seats  were 
wont  to  stand  close  by  and  take  part  in  the  merriment. 

In  1907  and  1908  several  names  were  added  to  the  roll 
of  members  deceased.  Two  of  these  were  the  names  of 
early. members  who  were  greatly  missed  by  all  of  us  who 
knew  them  well.  Major  Henry  Alonzo  Huntington,  whose 
last  years  had  been  saddened  by  a  tragedy  in  his  family, 
died  in  July,  1907,  in  his  home  in  Versailles,  France. 
Almost  a  year  later  John  G.  Shortall  passed  away.  Mr. 
Shortall  was  possessed  of  marked  personal  magnetism. 
This,  together  with  his  unfailing  good  humor,  his  bluff, 
hearty  manner,  spirit  of  comradeship,  and  intellectual 
acumen,  made  him  a  general  favorite.  Until  failing  health 
and  absence  from  the  city  prevented  he  was  constant  in 
his  attendance  at  our  meetings,  and  was  always  ready  to 
take  part  in  the  literary  exercises.  The  papers  he  read 
before  the  club  were  well  written  and  were  listened  to 
with  deep  interest. 

Early  in  the  season  of  1909 -i  910  the  committe  on 
rooms  and  finance  of  which  Charles  C.  Curtiss  was  the 
chairman,  was  instructed  to  find  other  quarters  for  the 
club.  Various  buildings  were  examined  for  their  suita- 

[    178   ] 


Removal  to  Fine  Arts  Building 

bility  and  a  proposition  was  made  by  the  Cliff  Dwellers 
looking  toward  letting  our  meetings  be  held  in  their 
rooms.  Finally  Mr.  Curtiss  was  able  to  announce  at  a 
meeting  held  on  January  lo,  1910,  that  it  was  possible 
to  arrange  for  quarters  in  The  Fine  Arts  Building  to  be 
jointly  occupied  by  the  Literary  Club  and  the  Caxton 
Club  upon  terms  and  conditions  mutually  advantageous 
to  both  organizations.  This  was  most  gratifying  and  the 
officers  of  the  club  were  duly  authorized  and  instructed 
to  execute  leases  for  the  proposed  rooms  for  a  term  of 
years.  That  being  done  the  work  of  remodeling  and 
fitting  the  rooms  for  the  joint  occupancy  of  the  two  clubs 
was  taken  in  hand,  and  on  x^pril  25,  1910,  the  moving  of 
our  effects  having  been  accomplished  in  the  preceding 
week,  the  Chicago  Literary  Club  held  its  first  meeting  in 
the  quarters  it  has  occupied  ever  since  and  which  have 
proved  most  admirably  adapted  to  its  requirements.  A 
few  years  earlier  the  location  would  not  have  been  suit- 
able. It  had  in  fact  proved  a  deterrent  to  attendance 
which  steadily  decreased  in  the  years  from  1888  to  1892 
when  the  club  rooms  were  in  the  building  on  the  corner 
of  Van  Buren  Street  only  a  few  feet  distant. 

When  the  season  of  1910-1911  opened  in  the  follow- 
ing October  it  was  possible  for  the  club  again  to  have  the 
annual  reunion  and  dinner  in  its  own  rooms  after  an  in- 
terval of  nineteen  years.  Merritt  Starr  had  been  elected 
president  and  seventy-one  members  and  fifteen  guests 
listened  to  his  inaugural  address  and  to  other  addresses 
and  songs  by  the  Imperial  Quartet  which  followed  it. 
Three  weeks  later,  on  the  evening  of  October  31,  1910, 
the  club  celebrated  its  occupancy  of  the  new  quarters  by 

[    179  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Clu3 

holding  a  ladies'  night  reception  to  which  the  members 
of  the  Caxton  Club  and  their  ladies  were  invited.  It  was 
a  very  enjoyable  occasion.  The  attendance  was  large  and 
Paul  Shorey  read  a  paper  entitled  "Athens  Fin  de  Siecle." 

Among  the  most  ardent  advocates  of  the  removal  to 
the  Fine  Arts  Building  was  Dr.  James  Nevins  Hyde,  but, 
alas,  he  never  saw  the  club  there  installed.  Though  he 
was  one  of  our  earliest  members,  he  was,  we  supposed, 
still  in  rugged  health  when,  on  September  6,  1910,  his  life 
came  to  a  sudden  end  at  his  summer  home  at  Prout's 
Neck,  Maine.  To  the  members  of  the  Chicago  Literary 
Club,  all  of  whom  without  exception  were  his  friends,  the 
news  of  his  death  brought  infinite  sadness.  Few,  if  any, 
of  the  gifted  men  whose  names  are  inscribed  upon  our 
rolls  have  had  a  firmer  hold  upon  the  affection  of  their 
fellow  members:  few  have  been  more  loyally  devoted  to 
the  club  or  have  done  more  to  make  it  what  it  has  been 
for  fifty  years.  His  personality  was  notably  dynamic;  his 
genial  good  humor  was  unfailing.  His  presence  in  the  club 
rooms  was  always  enlivening.  The  papers  he  read  at  our 
meetings  were  among  the  best  to  which  we  were  privi- 
leged to  listen;  many  of  them  were  historical  studies 
made  graphic  by  his  penetrative  vision,  and  entertaining 
by  his  witty  comments  and  happy  choice  of  words.  His 
professional  standing  was  an  enviable  one,  as  also  was 
his  record  as  a  medical  ofhcer  in  the  Civil  War;  but  for 
us  it  was  the  man  himself  that  counted,  and  to  lose  him 
was  hard,  very  hard  indeed. 

Two  other  early  members  were  also  reft  from  us  in 
the  summer  of  1910;  Chief  Justice  Melville  Weston  Fuller 
who  died  in  Washington,  D.  C,  on  July  4,  and  Major 

\   180  1 


H 
(7\ 


O 

I— I 


A  Memorable  Meeting 


George  Laban  Paddock  who  passed  away  on  Septem- 
ber II.  Mr.  Fuller's  attachment  to  the  club  was  not 
dimmed  by  more  than  twenty  years'  absence  from  Chi- 
cago, but  was  held  to  the  end  of  his  life.  Major  Paddock 
was  always  one  of  the  faithful.  Of  seemingly  frail  phy- 
sique, extremely  quiet  and  gentle  manner,  and  never  self 
assertive,  he  was  yet  a  determined  fighter  for  the  causes 
that  he  believed  to  be  worthy,  and  he  always  had  the 
courage  of  his  convictions.  He  was  a  calm-minded,  clear 
and  logical  thinker,  a  good  lawyer,  a  lover  of  art  and 
literature  and  a  comrade  whom  we  valued  highly. 

One  of  the  early  meetings  in  the  new  rooms  is  memo- 
rable, though  not  for  the  part  that  the  writer  of  this 
chronicle  took  in  leading  a  conversation  upon  the  topic 
"Does  Civilization  Change  Human  Nature  ?"  He  did  not 
attempt  to  answer  the  question;  he  merely  stated  it  so  as 
to  set  tongues  wagging.  And  wag  they  did  with  great 
eagerness,  not  only  throughout  the  meeting  but  around 
the  tables  in  the  supper  room  after  the  adjournment,  and 
even,  so  it  was  reported,  in  the  family  circles  of  many 
of  the  members  where  the  discussion  was  continued 
during  several  succeeding  days.  For  this  meeting,  at  the 
suggestion  of  the  writer,  the  committee  on  exercises  for- 
mulated and  promulgated  the  following  "Conversation 
Regulations,"  hoping  thus  to  aid  in  reviving  an  almost 
obsolete  form  of  "literary  exercise"  which  was  much  in 
vogue  in  earlier  days. 

1.  If  the  leader's  opening  speech  is  entertaining  he  may  talk  just 

five  minutes,  provided  he  is  not  interrupted. 

2.  After  theopeninganyonechattering continuously  for  longer  than 

sixty  consecutive  seconds,  or  thereabouts,  will  be  cut  short  by 
the  chairman. 

[   i8i   1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

3.  Every  one  present  is  expected  to  say  something. 

4.  No  restriction  is  placed  upon  the  number  of  times  any  person 

may  chip  in  if  he  can  get  a  chance. 

5.  If  any  one  exhibits  a  disposition  to  keep  his  thoughts  to  himself 

the  chairman  will  courteously  but  firmly  invite  him  to  come 
out  of  his  shell. 

6.  No  member  shall  be  at  liberty  to  make  himself  conspicuous  by 

standing  while  he  converses. 

7.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  chairman  to  call  any  member  to  order 

who  expresses  an  opinion  about  anything  he  understands. 

8.  It  is  not  necessary  to  stick  to  the  subject.  (N.  B. — As  no  one 

was  ever  known  to  do  so,  here  or  elsewhere,  this  regulation  is 
probably  superfluous.) 

The  wisdom  of  moving  to  the  delightful  quarters  that 
the  club  now  occupied  was  shown  by  a  marked  revival 
in  the  club  spirit  and  an  increase  of  eighteen  per  cent  in 
the  attendance  during  the  first  season  of  our  occupancy. 
Toward  the  end  of  the  season  two  more  valued  members 
were  taken  from  us  by  death,  Frederick  Ullmann  and 
Rev.  Charles  Joseph  Little,  D.D.,  president  of  the  Garret 
Biblical  Institute  of  the  Northwestern  University.  Both 
were  men  of  noble  character.  Mr.  Ullmann,  much  to  the 
regret  of  his  fellow  members  who  greatly  respected  and 
admired  him  was  not  a  frequent  attendant  at  the  meet- 
ings of  the  club.  Dr.  Little  always  came  when  he  could, 
and  his  winning  personality,  marked  by  quiet  natural 
dignity  and  gracious  manner,  made  him  especially  wel- 
come. He  was  a  man  of  distinguished  attainments  and  was 
widely  known  and  beloved.  For  the  club,  during  the  nine 
years  when  he  was  a  member,  he  wrote  six  papers,  all 
of  them  attractive  and  bearing  the  impress  of  his  wide 
scholarship,  keen  appreciation  of  literary  values,  and  mas- 
tery of  style. 

[    182  ] 


Concerning  Devoted  Members 

For  the  season  of  1911-1912  William  Morton  Payne 
was  our  president.  His  inaugural  address  entitled  "Peter 
and  the  Primrose"  will  be  remembered  with  pleasure  by 
all  who  heard  him  read  it.  Mr.  Payne  was,  in  the  best 
sense  of  the  phrase,  a  literary  man,  and  had  distinguished 
ability  as  a  writer.  From  literature  he  derived  his  greatest 
pleasure.  To  it  he  devoted  his  talents  with  unflagging 
zeal,  giving  to  it  virtually  all  the  time  that  was  not  taken 
up  by  his  duties  as  a  teacher  in  one  of  the  Chicago  public 
schools  or  by  foreign  travel  in  his  summer  vacations. 
Much  of  his  finest  work  was  done  for  The  Dial,  with  which 
he  was  connected  for  many  years  as  an  edi torial  writer  and 
a  book  reviewer.  His  books  were  valuable  contributions 
to  the  literature  of  the  subjects  that  he  treated,  but  were 
not  of  a  kind  to  yield  him  much  in  the  way  of  a  financial 
reward.  Copies  of  all,  or  nearly  all  of  them,  given  by  him 
to  the  club  are  in  our  library.  Mr.  Payne  was  deeply  at- 
tached to  the  club  and  for  it  he  wrote  many  delightful 
papers.  He  was  greatly  missed  when  his  health  gave  way 
and,  in  1919,  he  died  after  a  lingering  illness. 

In  January,  191 2,  we  were  saddened  by  the  death  of 
Frederick  Greeley,  and  in  April  by  that  of  Pliny  Smith 
who  had  been  nominated  for  the  presidency  a  fortnight 
earlier.  In  his  stead  William  M.  R.  French  was  chosen, 
and  his  inaugural  address  on  "Sympathetic  Imagination 
as  an  Instrument  of  Criticism  Literary  and  Artistic"  was 
a  notable  one,  as  we  had  reason  to  expect.  The  principal 
events  of  the  season  of  1912-1913,  when  Mr.  French  was 
our  president,  were  the  dinner  on  November  25,  191 2,  to 
Laurence  Binyon  of  the  British  Museum,  widely  known 
as  a  poet  and  author  ot  books  on  the  fine  arts;  and  the 

[    183   ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

dinner  on  February  24,  1913,  to  John  W.  Alexander  who 
was  then  the  president  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Design. 

The  death  of  our  first  president  Rev.  Robert  Collyer 
must,  however,  be  recorded.  It  occurred  on  December  i, 
1 91 2,  when  he  had  almost  attained  the  ripe  age  of  ninety 
years.  Mr.  Collyer  was  a  man  of  unforgettable  personal- 
ity. He  was  big  of  frame  and  big  of  mind.  Instead  of 
hardening  him,  the  hardships  of  his  early  years  in  the 
little  village  of  Keighley,  in  the  West  Riding  of  York- 
shire, England,  where  from  his  eighth  until  his  fourteenth 
year  he  tended  a  loom  in  a  linen  mill  thirteen  hours  a 
day,  six  days  in  the  week,  only  broadened  and  deepened 
the  sympathy  for  his  fellows,  which,  throughout  his  life, 
was  one  of  his  most  salient  characteristics.  His  bluff, 
hearty  manner,  simple  directness  of  speech,  and  trans- 
parent sincerity,  were  most  engaging  and  not  only  brought 
him  many  friends,  but  were  important  factors  in  the  help- 
ful influence  which  he  exerted  upon  the  members  of  his 
congregations.  His  appreciation  of  the  spiritual  uplift  to 
be  derived  from  acquaintance  with  the  best  literature  is 
well  shown  in  the  extracts  from  his  address  at  our  first 
annual  dinner,  which  are  given  in  the  second  chapter  of 
this  chronicle.  In  the  twenty  years  of  his  residence  in 
Chicago,  from  May,  1859,  until  the  autumn  of  1879,  Mr. 
Collyer  was  one  of  the  prominent  figures  in  our  city, 
widely  known  and  respected.  When,  feeling  that  his  work 
here  was  done,  he  removed  to  New  York  to  become  the 
pastor  of  the  Church  of  the  Messiah,  he  was  greatly 
missed  by  the  members  of  this  club.  At  our  meetings 
his  cheery  presence  was  in  the  nature  of  an  inspiration: 

[    184  ] 


Our  Fortieth  Anniversary 


and  to  the  end  of  his  life  he  remained  a  fast  friend  and 
supporter  of  our  organization  which  he  liad  helped  to 
found. 

Walter  Lowrie  Fisher  was  president  in  1913-1914  and 
chose  "The  Literature  of  Alaska"  as  the  subject  of  his 
inaugural  address.  Meetings  during  his  administration 
that  call  for  special  mention  are  three  held  in  March, 
1 914.  At  one  of  these  Judge  Brown  read  his  delightful 
paper  "De  Senectute"  which  has  been  printed  by  the 
club;  at  another,  a  ladies'  night,  William  J.  Calhoun,  then 
recently  returned  from  Peking  where  he  had  been  the 
United  States  Minister  for  four  years,  read  a  paper  on 
"China  in  Transition."  The  third  meeting  was  that  of 
March  16,  when  the  fortieth  anniversary  of  the  founding 
of  the  club  was  celebrated  at  a  dinner,  following  which 
memories  of  the  early  meetings  and  of  members  who  had 
passed  away  were  given  by  Judge  Brown,  William  M.  R. 
French,  and  the  writer.  It  was  at  this  meeting  that  we 
began  to  realize  that  while  the  club  was  yet  young  and 
vigorous  many  of  its  members  were  not  and  could  not 
be  expected  to  be  with  us  many  years  longer. 

The  list  of  seventeen  names  added  to  the  roll  of  mem- 
bers deceased  in  1912-1913  and  1913-1914  is  an  im- 
pressive one.  First  upon  it  appear  those  of  Rev.  Robert 
Collyer,  Francis  Fisher  Browne  and  Rev.  Leander  T. 
Chamberlain.  Then  come  those  of  Henry  H.  Belfield, 
Daniel  H.  Burnham,  Arthur  D.  Wheeler,  Rev.  William 
J.  Petrie,  Dr.  Henry  P.  Merriman,  Rev.  Louis  S.  Osborne, 
Eliphalet  W.  Blatchford,  John  C.  Grant,  John  W.  Mac- 
Geagh,  General  Joseph  B.  Leake,  David  B.  Lyman, 
Josiah  L.  Pickard,  Albert  G.  Farr,  and  William  Eliot 

I  185 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

Furness,  all  but  two  well  on  in  years,  and  all  but  two  of 
them  young  men  when  they  joined  the  club.  Most  of  them 
will  be  remembered  by  many  of  those  who  are  now  mem- 
bers; some  of  them  have  been  mentioned  more  than  once 
in  this  history,  and  biographies  of  others  were  printed  in 
the  year  books. 

Francis  Fisher  Browne  deserves  a  chapter  to  himself 
though  he  never  attended  more  than  one  meeting  of  the 
club.  His  part  in  founding  it  and  the  unfortunate  circum- 
stances that  resulted  in  leaving  him  outside  the  fold  dur- 
ing the  first  twenty-five  years  have  already  been  related. 
When  reparation  was  made  and  his  name  was  restored 
to  the  roll,  his  health  was  so  precarious  that  he  was  forced 
to  stay  closely  at  homein  the  evenings.  It  was  impossible, 
therefore,  for  him  to  come  to  our  meetings.  He  was,  how- 
ever, well  known  to  many  of  the  members  and  this  history 
would  not  be  complete  without  some  mention  of  his  rare 
worth.  A  more  sensitively  organized  man  never  lived,  or 
one  more  intensely  animated  by  the  highest  and  purest 
motives.  His  frail  physique  prevented  him  from  taking 
an  active  part  in  social  and  political  life  for  which  indeed 
he  was  not  otherwise  well  fitted.  But  in  ministering  to 
the  spiritual  uplifting  of  his  fellows  he  found  his  mission 
and  his  whole  life  was  given  over  to  that  end.  In  the 
firm  belief  that  this  could  best  be  accomplished  through 
the  cultivation  of  the  i^sthetic  sense  he  strove  to  aid  the 
cause  of  literature  and  art  by  writing  and  getting  others 
to  write  for  the  journal  of  appreciation  and  critical  ex- 
amination that  he  founded  and  continued  to  publish  as 
long  as  he  lived.  Under  his  capable  editorship  The  Dial 
maintained  an  enviable  rank  among  literary  journals  and 

[   i86  1 


More  Devoted  Members 


had  reatiers  in  many  lands.  As  a  companion  Mr.  Browne 
was  most  delightful.  His  deep  interest  in  all  really  impor- 
tant things,  his  wide  knowledge  and  power  of  impartial 
analysis,  his  eager  desire  to  know  and  do  whatever  was 
right,  and  his  unfailing  sense  of  humor  and  appreciation 
of  merit  could  not  fail  both  to  stimulate  and  entertain. 
It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  his  connection  with 
the  club  could  not  have  been  close  and  intimate. 

Mr.  Belfield  was  one  of  the  most  devoted  members  the 
club  has  ever  had.  He  was  most  regular  in  his  attendance 
during  almost  twenty-eight  years,  and  was  a  general 
favorite  with  his  fellows,  more  especially  with  a  congenial 
group  of  those  who,  like  himself,  had  been  officers  in 
the  Union  Army  in  the  Civil  War.  In  that  war  and  in  later 
years  as  an  educator  he  had  won  merited  distinction. 
But  it  was  the  man  himself  and  not  his  attainments  that 
endeared  him  to  us.  He  was  simple,  straightforward,  ear- 
nest, high-minded,  and  eager  to  do  his  best.  Such  a  man 
must  always  be  an  inspiration  to  those  with  whom  he 
comes  in  close  contact. 

Major  Furness  and  General  Leake  were  also  veterans 
of  the  Civil  War.  Furness  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
club  and  from  the  beginning  he  was  active  in  promoting 
its  welfare.  His  charming  personality  won  him  a  host  of 
friends  and  many  of  these  were  admitted  to  the  club  as 
a  result  of  his  initiative.  Perhaps  no  other  member  ever 
proposed  so  many  desirable  candidates  for  membership. 
He  will  be  long  remembered  for  himself  and  for  his  attach- 
ment to  the  club  of  which  he  was  the  secretary  from  1876 
to  1880  and  the  president  for  the  season  of  1894  1895. 
General  Leake  was  also  a  member  whose  solid  worth 

[  1H7 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

endeared  him  to  his  fellows  during  many  years  of  close 
companionship,  and  whom  they  were  glad  to  choose  as 
their  president  for  the  season  of  1 897-1 898. 

John  Cowles  Grant  was  another  of  the  faithful.  From 
January,  1888,  until  he  was  incapacitated  by  the  illness 
that  caused  his  death  in  March,  1914,  his  figure  was  one 
of  the  most  familiar  at  our  meetings.  For  his  life  work  as 
a  teacher  he  had  a  natural  gift.  The  many  pupils  whom 
he  taught  at  Lake  Forest  Academy,  at  the  x'\llen  Acad- 
emy in  Chicago,  and  at  the  famous  Harvard  School  of 
which  he  was  one  of  the  proprietors  and  principals  from 
1 88 1  until  his  death,  always  spoke  of  him  with  affection 
and  gratitude.  One  of  these  pupils  said  of  him  in  the 
biographical  sketch  printed  in  the  club  Year  Book  for 
1914— 1915:  "Mr,  Grant  was  deeply  interested  in  all 
things  that  make  for  righteousness:  he  was  an  elder  in 
the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Chicago,  a  trustee  of 
th^  Tuskegee  Institute,  and  was  long  active  in  the  work 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  His  high  so- 
cial gifts,  his  keen  and  gentle  wit  and  large  capacity  for 
friendship,  his  unusual  intellectual  power,  and  his  deep 
moral  earnestness  greatly  endeared  him  to  his  fellow 
members."  What  the  club  meant  to  him  was  gracefully 
shown  by  a  bequest  of  one  thousand  dollars  to  it,  made 
in  his  will. 

Before  the  season  of  1914-1915  the  great  war  had  cast 
its  shadow  over  the  world.  Dr.  Charles  Bert  Reed,  than 
whom  the  club  has  never  had  a  more  devoted  member, 
was  our  president  during  that  season.  His  inaugural 
address,  which  had  the  club  for  its  theme,  was  afterward 
printed  by  the  club.  Memorable  among  the  meetings  ot 

[    188   ] 


EDWARD    OSGOOD     BROWN 


Events  OF  1914-1916 


the  year  was  the  dinner  to  George  Macaulay  Trevelyan 
on  May  3,  191 5,  when  he  addressed  the  ckih  and  Paul 
Shorey  read  a  paper  entitled  "An  Exchange  Professor 
in  Germany."  Another  meeting  not  readily  forgotten 
by  those  present  was  held  just  a  week  later.  At  it  our 
lamented  friend  Dr.  Harold  IMoyer  delighted  us  with  an 
exposition  ot  "The  Freudian  Doctrine  and  its  Limita- 
tions." Ten  more  of  our  older  members  died  in  this  club 
year:  Franklin  H.  Head,  William  M.  R.  French,  Hart  well 
Osborn,  Albert  A.  Sprague,  Walter  C.  Larned,  Rev. 
Charles  S.  Lester,  and  Rev.  Arthur  Little;  and  in  the  next 
year  Samuel  S.  Greeley,  Bryan  Lathrop,  John  J.  Herrick, 
Rev.  Theodore  P.  Prudden  and  Raymond  S.  Perrin 
passed  away. 

The  season  of  1915-1916,  when  Payson  Sibley  Wild 
was  president,  was  a  most  enjoyable  one  and  was  marked 
by  good  attendance  except  on  the  ladies'  nights  when 
various  circumstances  prevented  many  from  coming  to 
the  rooms.  The  most  notable  literary  offerings  of  the 
season  were  Dr.  Moyer's  paper  on  "Dreams,"  and  the 
president's  inaugural  address  entitled  "An  Early  Liter- 
ary Club,"  which  was  printed  by  the  club. 

No  events  that  stand  out  conspicuously  occurred  dur- 
ing the  next  three  seasons  when  the  office  of  president  was 
held  successively  by  James  Westfall  Thompson,  Clement 
Walker  Andrews,  and  George  Packard.  After  our  first 
lease  of  the  present  club  rooms  expired  in  1913  it  had 
been  renewed  from  year  to  year,  but  in  191 5  the  increase 
in  taxes  and  operating  expenses  had  made  it  necessary 
for  the  owners  of  the  building  to  increase  the  rental. 
To  meet  this  without  increasing  the  dues  paid  by  the 

[    189  1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

members  of  the  two  clubs  the  manager  of  the  building  was 
authorized  to  sublet  the  rooms  to  other  organizations 
that  might  desire  them  for  meetings  that  would  not  con- 
flict with  our  meetings  or  those  of  the  Caxton  Club.  This 
arrangement  proved  satisfactory  so  far  as  the  Literary 
Club  was  concerned,  but  in  191 8  the  Caxton  Club  decided 
to  remove  to  the  Art  Institute.  This  made  it  uncertain 
whether  we  should  be  able  to  continue  to  remain,  but 
fortunately  an  arrangement  was  effected  by  which  this 
club  could  have  the  use  of  its  rooms  on  Monday  eve- 
nings and  the  building  should  have  the  right  to  rent  them 
to  other  tenants  for  use  at  all  other  times,  and  as  our 
furnishings  were  to  be  kept  in  place  the  rental  was  fixed 
at  a  sum  which  was  within  our  means  and  regarded  by 
our  finance  committee  as  reasonable.  This  arrangement 
has  since  been  renewed  from  year  to  year  and  still  con- 
tinues. 

During  the  season  of  1916-1917  two  valued  members, 
William  J.  Calhoun  and  Judge  Arba  N.  Waterman,  were 
reft  from  us  by  death;  and  in  1917-1918  the  names  of  two 
staunch  supporters  of  the  club  from  almost  its  earliest 
days,  George  Everett  Adams  and  Moses  L.  Scudder,  were 
added  to  the  roll  of  members  deceased.  The  resignation 
of  Dr.  Joseph  Zeisler,  on  October  1,1917,  was  also  looked 
upon  as  a  great  loss  to  the  club.  For  more  than  twenty- 
two  years  he  had  been  constant  in  his  attendance  at  our 
meetings,  where  by  his  unfailing  geniality  and  interest 
in  whatever  interested  his  fellow  members  he  had  won 
their  hearts,  and  it  was  with  deep  regret  that  they  learned 
that  he  had  dropped  out. 

At  the  close  of  the  forty-fifth  season  in  May,  191 8,  the 

[   190  ] 


A  Message  to  Posterity 


writer  said  in  his  annual  report:  "When  we  read  the 
accounts  of  wars,  religious  persecutions,  and  political 
upheavals  that  formerly  were  accepted  as  adequate  his- 
torical showings,  we  wondered,  if  we  thought  about  the 
matter  at  all,  how  people  managed  to  live  and  provide 
for  their  necessities  under  such  impossible  conditions. 
When  we  read  the  lives  of  eminent  scholars,  teachers, 
and  artists  who  lived  amid  the  turmoil  of  such  troublous 
times,  the  wars  and  upheavals  recede  so  far  into  the 
background  that  we  may  and  often  do  lose  sight  of  them 
altogether.  When,  a  thousand  years  hence,  the  members 
of  the  Chicago  Literary  Club  read  its  early  history, 
proud  to  belong  to  such  an  ancient  and  honorable  organ- 
ization, but  puzzled  to  know  what  sort  of  men  upheld  it 
in  its  infancy,  they  will  very  likely  wonder  how  it  man- 
aged to  exist  through  the  stress  and  strain  of  the  great 
world  war.  If  this  report  is  still  in  the  club's  archives  it 
will  assure  them  that,  despite  the  trials,  anxieties,  heart- 
wrenches  and  other  grievous  burdens  that  in  common 
with  all  other  good  men  the  members  of  this  club  had 
to  bear,  the  club's  forty-fifth  season  was  rounded  out 
as  peacefully,  as  serenely  as  any  of  the  forty-four  that 
preceded  it  and  its  meetings  were  not  less  enjoyable  and 
stimulating  than  those  held  in  former  years." 

The  number  of  resident  members  at  the  end  of  that 
season  was  one  hundred  and  forty-three,  of  whom  sixty 
were  more  than  sixty  years  old,  and  only  fifteen  were 
aged  less  than  forty  years.  An  active  campaign  to  enlist 
younger  members  having  attainments  in  keeping  with 
the  traditions  of  the  club  had,  however,  been  started,  and 
has  since  had  excellent  results. 

1  191  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

The  year  bookscontainmemorial  biographies  of  twenty 
members  who  died  during  the  forty-third,  forty-fourth, 
and  forty-fifth  seasons.  All  were  men  we  could  not  afford 
to  lose,  but  especially  dear  to  us  from  their  close  and 
active  connection  with  the  club,  were  Bishop  Charles 
Edward  Cheney,  Judge  Henry  V.  Freeman,  Frederic 
W.  Root,  Horatio  L.  Wait,  Henry  E.  Legler,  Rev.  Dr. 
Galusha  Anderson,  and  Charles  Sumner  Holt.  Of  one  of 
these  I  said  in  a  biography,  printed  in  the  year  book  for 
1917-1918,  words  that  I  wish  to  repeat  here:  "To  the 
members  of  this  club  the  mention  of  the  name  of  Bishop 
Cheney  will  always  bring  to  mind  a  personality  of  singu- 
lar beauty  and  refinement.  The  memory  of  his  noble 
character,  his  dignified  yet  always  gracious  and  friendly 
bearing,  his  breadth  of  sympathy,  his  intellectual  alert- 
ness, and  his  keen  interest  in  all  higher  things,  must 
ever  have  for  us  all  the  force  of  a  benediction.  .  .  .  Few 
men  have  had  greater  capacity  for  inspiring  affection  or 
have  been  more  widely  beloved.  In  the  club  we  miss  him 
as  one  whom  we  all  loved  and  admired  and  were  proud 
to  have  as  our  fellow  member." 

In  another  biography  printed  in  the  same  year  book  I 
said :  "Among  the  men  who  have  given  the  Chicago  Liter- 
ary Club  the  deep  hold  it  has  ever  had  upon  the  affec- 
tion of  its  members,  Frederic  Woodman  Root  will  always 
occupy  a  prominent  place.  He  was  elected  a  member  on 
October  31,  1884,  and  from  that  time  forward,  until  fail- 
ing health  prevented  him  from  coming  to  the  club,  he 
was  ever  a  frequent  attendant  at  the  meetings  where  his 
cheery  manner,  his  unfailing  geniality,  and  his  graceful 
wit  added  much  to  the  enjoyment  of  all  who  were  pres- 

[    192  ] 


FREDERICK    WILLIAM    GOOKIN 


Two  Devoted  Members 


ent.  .  .  .  Devoted  as  he  was  to  music  Mr.  Root  did 
not  neglect  to  store  his  mind  with  other  knowledge.  His 
reading  covered  a  wide  range,  and  he  had  a  genuine  love 
of  study.  His  papers  read  before  the  club,  most  of  them 
accompanied  by  musical  illustrations,  were  exceptionally 
instructive  and  entertaining  and  they  always  attracted 
large  audiences." 

Of  Horatio  Loomis  Wait  it  should  be  said  again  that: 
"His  winning  personality  and  gentle  manner  drew  to  him 
all  who  were  privileged  to  know  him  well  and  his  memory 
will  long  be  cherished  by  his  fellow  members  in  the  club." 
His  genial  presence  was  long  a  feature  at  our  meetings, 
for  during  the  entire  period  of  thirty-nine  years  when 
his  name  was  upon  the  roll  he  never  missed  a  meeting 
that  it  was  possible  for  him  to  attend.  And  in  all  those 
years  no  other  member  was  more  ready  to  contribute  to 
the  literary  exercises  or  to  serve  the  club  in  any  way. 

For  the  forty-seventh  season,  that  of  1919-1920,  Ed- 
win Herbert  Lewis  was  president  of  the  club.  At  the  end  of 
that  season  the  writer  of  this  history  retired  from  the 
office  of  secretary  and  treasurer  which  he  had  held  for 
forty  years;  and  on  May  24,  1920,  the  club  gave  a  dinner 
in  his  honor.  This  tribute  of  regard  from  his  fellow  mem- 
bers touched  him  so  deeply  that  he  could  not  then  and 
cannot  now  express  more  than  faintly  what  it  meant  to 
him  to  have  such  a  testimonial.  At  the  meeting  held  a 
fortnight  earlier  Payson  Sibley  Wild  was  elected  as  his 
successor.  That  this  was  a  most  happy  choice  the  writer 
feels  sure  that  all  of  the  members  of  the  club  will  heartily 
agree. 

In  1920-1921  Albert  Harris  Tolman  was  the  club's 

[    193   ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

president.  For  the  season  of  1 921 -1922  the  high  honor  of 
that  office  was  conferred  upon  the  writer;  in  1922- 1923 
Irving  Kane  Pond  was  its  recipient;  and  in  1923-1924  the 
club  rounds  out  its  first  half  century  and  its  filty-first 
season  under  the  presidency  of  Victor  Yarros.  In  one 
sense  uneventful,  these  last  four  seasons  have  been  among 
the  best  we  have  ever  enjoyed,  and  in  looking  back  upon 
them,  the  distinguished  quality  of  the  papers  read,  and 
the  spirit  of  good  fellowship  that  has  pervaded  the  meet- 
ings are  the  things  that  come  most  insistently  to  mind. 
Alas,  none  of  the  four  seasons  has  been  without  its  burden 
of  sorrow.  In  April,  1922,  Dr.  Frank  Johnson  died  in  Cali- 
fornia whither  he  had  removed  when  failing  health  com- 
pelled him  togive  up  the  practice  of  his  profession;  and  in 
the  following  month  Adolphus  C.  Bartlett,  another  of  our 
early  members,  passed  away.  Leslie  Lewis,  who  died  in 
October,  1922,  had  been  a  loyal  member  for  nearly  forty 
years.  Henry  Frederick  Cope,  whose  sudden  death  in 
August,  1923,  brought  a  shock  of  grief  to  many  of  our 
members,  was  enrolled  in  1907.  During  the  sixteen  years 
that  he  was  with  us  he  made  a  deep  impression  upon 
his  fellows.  Remarkably  broad-minded  and  a  clear  and 
cogent  writer,  he  strove  to  keep  free  from  bias,  to  view 
controverted  questions  in  all  their  aspects,  and  not  to 
withhold  sympathy  from  those  with  whom  he  could  not 
agree.  These  qualities  of  mind  made  him  exceptionally 
well  fitted  to  carry  on  the  work  of  religious  education  to 
which  his  latter  years  were  devoted.  Together  with  his 
open  sincerity,  cheery  manner,  and  strong  sense  ot  humor, 
they  gained  for  him  many  warm  friends.  In  the  club  to 
which  he  was  ardently  attached  we  miss  him  sadly. 

[   194  ] 


Others  for  Whom  We  Grieve 

Among  the  loyal  members  who  were  taken  from  us 
in  1923  and  1924,  the  names  of  George  H.  Holt,  General 
Martin  D  Hardin,  Dr.  Harold  N.  Moyer,  and  Judge 
Edward  O.  Brown  come  first  to  mind.  In  recent  years 
neither  Mr.  Holt  who  was  broken  in  health,  nor  General 
Hardin  who  was  of  advanced  age  and  spent  the  cold 
months  ot  the  year  in  Florida,  was  able  to  visit  the  club 
save  at  long  intervals.  Both,  however,  were  active  in 
earlier  years,  and  both  remained  constant  in  their  attach- 
ment to  the  last.  ' 

General  Hardin  who  was  in  the  regular  army  and  was 
stationed  in  Oregon  before  the  Civil  War,  and  was  placed 
on  the  retired  list  when  he  was  grievously  wounded  and 
lostoneof  his  arms  at  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run  where 
he  distinguished  himself  by  conspicuous  gallantry,  was 
compelled  to  live  an  inactive  life  thereafter,  but  he  was 
a  man  of  keen  intelligence  and  was  always  deeply  inter- 
ested in  current  social  and  economic  questions.  He  will 
be  recalled  by  the  members  who  knew  him,  for  his  mili- 
tary bearing,  affability,  and  sturdy  independence  of  mind. 

George  Holt  was  a  man  of  such  marked  individuality 
that  he  will  not  readily  be  forgotten  by  those  who  knew 
him.  For  those  who  did  not  know  him  a  mere  enumer- 
ation of  his  salient  characteristics  can  convey  no  realistic 
picture  of  his  personality.  To  say  that  he  was  a  good 
fellow,  with  a  keen  appreciation  of  humor  and  with  a 
talent  for  witty  dialect  recitation;  that  he  was  a  suc- 
cessful business  man  and  as  such  accustomed  to  impose 
his  will  upon  others;  and  that  he  was  interested  in 
many  things  besides  his  business,  is  not  enough.  It  was 
not  for  these  qualities  that  he  was  chosen  president 

[  195  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

of  the  club  for  the  season  of  1 905-1 906,  but  for  the  in- 
definable something  more  that  drew  us  to  him  and  drew 
him  to  us. 

Our  hearts  bleed  when  we  think  of  Dr.  Moyer,  as  we 
shall  long  continue  to  do,  for  he  was  a  constant  attendant 
at  the  meetings  during  a  good  many  of  the  recent  years 
and  all  the  more  active  members  knew  him  well.  He  will 
be  remembered  not  alone  for  his  brilliant  papers,  notable 
for  the  thoughtful  and  trenchant  analysis  of  the  subjects 
he  took  up,  and  brimming  with  pungent  witticisms  that 
were  irresistibly  mirth-provoking.  Even  more  will  he  be 
remembered  for  the  good  fellowship  he  so  actively  pro- 
moted and  of  which  he  was  the  enlivening  spirit  while 
in  his  accustomed  place  in  the  circle  about  one  of  the 
tables  in  the  supper  room  after  the  close  of  the  literary 
exercises. 

Judge  Brown  too  we  miss  most  keenly.  For  some  years 
past  he  and  Franklin  MacVeagh  were  the  only  resident 
members  still  living  who  joined  the  club  in  its  first  year. 
In  a  very  special  sense  each  one  of  the  members  had  come 
to  regard  him  as  a  personal  friend.  Through  almost  the 
entire  period  of  his  membership,  only  a  few  months  less 
than  fifty  years,  he  was  a  constant  attendant  at  the  meet- 
ings. He  loved  the  club  and  it  was  a  large  factor  in  his 
life.  To  the  calls  it  made  upon  him  he  always  responded 
with  cheerful  alacrity,  and  the  papers  he  wrote  for  us 
were  of  distinguished  quality.  As  a  lawyer  and  a  jurist  he 
held  an  enviable  place  in  the  community,  but  our  mem- 
ories of  him  will  be  of  the  gracious  presence  of  the  man 
himself  as  he  was  among  his  chosen  associates  at  our 
Monday  evening  gatherings. 

I  196  ] 


Others  for  Whom  We  Grieve 

Two  other  members  who  passed  away  in  1923,  Rev. 
John  Coleman  Adams  and  Dr.  Horace  M.  Starkey,  will 
be  pleasantly  recalled  by  those  of  us  who  knew  them,  for 
both  were  great  favorites  with  their  fellows.  They  loved 
the  club  dearly  and,  during  the  years  when  they  lived  in 
Chicago,  they  did  much  for  it  and  were  constant  in  their 
attendance  at  the  meetings.  Often  after  their  removal 
from  the  city  expressions  of  regret  came  from  them  that 
they  could- no  longer  be  with  us  except  in  spirit. 

There  are  some  men  so  eminently  companionable  that 
they  make  a  deep  and  lasting  impression  upon  all  who 
come  in  contact  with  them.  Dr.  Charles  Adams  was 
one  of  that  kind.  When  he  joined  the  club  in  January, 
1876,  he  was  a  young  man,  but  he  had  already  achieved 
distinguished  professional  standing.  As  his  reputation  as 
a  surgeon  widened  he  found  it  increasingly  difficult  to 
attend  the  meetings,  wherefore  in  January,  1895,  '"^^  ^'^- 
signed.  Some  years  later,  however,  realizing  his  mistake, 
he  asked  to  be  reinstated,  and  in  January,  1902,  he  was 
gladly  taken  back  into  the  fold.  Thenceforth  he  was  a 
familiar  figure  at  our  meetings  where  he  was  ever  wel- 
come and  where  his  presence  added  much  to  the  enjoy- 
ment ot  all  who  were  in  attendance.  It  was  with  much 
regret  that  we  bade  him  "Good  bye"  when,  having  re- 
tired from  the  practice  of  his  profession,  he  left  Chicago 
to  spend  his  remaining  days  in  Honolulu.  Dr.  Adams' 
personality  is  unforgettable.  His  military  bearing,  the 
outcome  of  his  long  and  active  connection  with  the 
Illinois  National  Guard,  his  genial  manner,  his  deep  in- 
terest in  all  the  things  that  make  for  culture,  and  above 
all,  his  sympathetic  understanding  and  keen  sense  of 

[  19- 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

humor,  were  salient  characteristics  that  stand  out  con- 
spicuously as  we  recall  him  to  memory.  For  us  who  knew 
him  well  it  was  a  sad  day  when  word  came  that  he  had 
passed  away,  and  we  miss  him  greatly. 

There  would  be  a  lamentable  gap  in  this  history  did 
it  not  include  further  mention  of  another  member  who 
died  only  a  few  months  after  the  club  had  rounded  out 
its  first  fifty  years.  Charles  Lawrence  Hutchinson  was 
one  of  the  outstanding  men  in  the  community.  Through- 
out his  life  he  was  deeply  interested  in  all  that  contrib- 
uted to  the  uplift  of  his  fellows;  even  during  his  earlier 
years  when  he  was  the  president  and  manager  of  the 
Corn  Exchange  Bank,  he  was  actively  connected  with 
many  public  works.  No  other  citizen  had  the  welfare  of 
all  of  the  people  more  constantly  at  heart.  The  Art  Insti- 
tute of  Chicago,  which  he  founded,  and  of  which  he  was 
the  president  as  long  as  he  lived,  stands  as  a  monument 
to  his  love  for  the  fine  arts  and  his  belief  that  in  no  way 
could  he  confer  lasting  benefit  upon  others  more  surely 
than  by  putting  within  their  reach  abundant  opportu- 
nity to  develop  and  cultivate  their  aesthetic  sense.  How 
much  time  and  painstaking  effort  he  put  into  the  up- 
building of  that  great  institution,  of  which  Chicago  may 
well  be  proud,  only  those  who  were  closely  associated 
with  him  in  the  work  can  fully  comprehend.  It  was  a 
labor  of  love  in  which  he  never  let  himself  be  discouraged. 
Instead  he  pushed  ahead  steadily,  year  in  and  year  out, 
and  never  failed  to  inspire  his  associates  by  his  quiet 
confidence  and  enthusiasm. 

To  the  University  of  Chicago  he  also  gave  much,  and 
was  not  only  its  treasurer,  but  one  of  the  most  valued 

[   198   ] 


In  Memory  of  Charles  Hutchinson 

members  of  its  Board  of  Trustees.  A  list  of  all  the  public 
institutions  and  enterprises  with  which  he  was  connected 
in  one  way  or  another  is  beyond  the  scope  of  this  history. 
It  will  suffice  to  say  that  few  that  were  worthy  lacked 
such  aid  as  he  could  give.  Here  in  this  club  it  was  his  rare 
personality  that  endeared  him  to  us.  We  thought  of  him 
not  so  much  for  what  he  was  in  the  world  at  large  as 
for  what  he  was  to  us  in  the  precincts  of  the  club — the 
friend  to  whom  we  were  deeply  attached,  to  whom  we 
always  listened  with  close  attention  when,  as  was  often 
the  case,  he  delighted  us  with  his  thoughtful  and  well- 
written  papers,  and  whom  we  were  happy  to  elect  as  our 
president  for  the  season  of  1 907-1 908.  Mr.  Hutchinson 
was  devoted  to  the  club  and  we  were  devoted  to  him: 
he  will  long  be  enshrined  in  our  memory  now  that,  alas, 
he  has  been  taken  away. 

In  ending  this  chronicle  of  the  first  fifty  years  of  the 
club,  the  writer  is  impelled  to  repeat  with  only  slight 
changes,  the  words  with  which  he  closed  his  inaugural 
address  as  president. 

As  we  of  the  older  generations  look  backward  over  the 
years  that  have  gone,  three  things  besides  the  excellence 
of  the  papers  read  stand  out  conspicuously.  First  among 
these  is  the  remarkable  strength  of  the  attachment  of 
the  members  to  the  club,  which  has  persisted  from  its 
earliest  beginning  until  now  and  is  undiminished  today. 
Another  is  the  large  element  of  fun  that  made  the  early 
meetings  so  enjoyable.  The  third  is  the  memory  of  the 
old  familiar  faces  and  figures  of  the  fellow  members  we 
knew  and  loved.  Strongly  do  I  share  the  sentiment  that 
Major  Huntington  expressed  so  beautifully  when  in  his 

[    199  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 

inaugural  address  as  president,  he  uttered  the  words  that 
each  one  of  us  may  well  echo:  "That  gallery,  invisible 
to  others,  which  like  every  man  of  feeling,  I  have  built 
within  myself,  is  illuminated  tonight  and  the  portraits 
painted  by  memory  are  looking  down  upon  me." 

But  visions  of  the  faces  and  of  the  days  that  can  never 
return  should  not  occupy  too  much  of  our  attention  nor 
keep  our  minds  from  the  joys  that  are  to  come.  What 
hes  ahead  of  us  I  shall  not  attempt  to  prophesy.  A  Japa- 
nese proverb  says:  "When  we  talk  of  tomorrow  the  rat 
in  the  ceiling  will  laugh."  But  the  future  of  the  club  will 
be  largely  what  we  make  it.  As  we  sow,  so  shall  we  reap. 
The  destiny  of  the  club  is  in  the  hands  of  its  younger 
members.  It  is  for  them  to  carry  on  its  traditions,  to  up- 
hold its  high  standard,  to  make  it  the  cherished  meeting 
place  where  the  best  and  most  cultured  men  in  the  city 
will  foregather.  To  do  this,  great  care  must  be  taken  that 
no  one  is  admitted  who  does  not  strengthen  the  club. 
Otherwise  it  will  cease  to  be  attractive  to  those  whose 
names  will  add  to  its  luster  and  whose  presence  at  the 
meetings  will  be  an  inspiration  to  all.  And  each  member 
in  the  future  as  in  the  past  will  need  to  have  a  keen  sense 
of  personal  responsibihty  and  be  willing  to  give  the  club 
of  his  very  best.  If  the  members  do  not  fail  in  this,  and 
it  is  inconceivable  that  they  will,  then  at  the  expiration 
of  another  fifty  years  the  club  should  still  be  a  lusty 
infant. 


[   200  ] 


APPENDICES 


App  endix    a 

WHERE   THE   MEETINGS   OF 

THE   CLUB 

HAVE   BEEN    HELD 


In  the  Club  Room  of  the  Sherman  House,  from  March  13, 
1874,  to  November  15,  1875. 

In  the  rooms  of  the  club  on  the  fourth  floor  of  the  Ameri- 
can Express  Company's  building  on  Monroe  Street 
between  State  and  Dearborn  Streets,  from  November 
22,  1875,  to  April  25,  1881. 

At  the  Grand  Pacific  Hotel  on  October  8,  1880;  dinner 
to  Thomas  Hughes. 

In  the  rooms  of  the  club  on  the  fourth  floor  of  Portland 
Block,  corner  of  Washington  and  Dearborn  Streets, 
from  May  9,  188 1,  to  April  26,  1886. 

At  Kinsley's  restaurant,  105-107  Adams  Street,  between 
Dearborn  and  Clark  Streets,  in  the  banquet  room  on 
the  fifth  floor,  from  May  3,  1886,  to  January  10,  1887. 

At  the  Union  League  Club,  on  January  17,  February  7 

and  14, 1887. 

In  the  rooms  of  the  club  on  the  third  floor  of  the  building 
of  the  Art   Institute,  southwest  corner  ot  Michigan 

[    ^03   ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Avenue  and  Van  Buren  Street,  from  October  lo,  1887, 
to  June  13,  1892. 

At  the  University  Club,  116-118  Dearborn  Street,  from 
October  3,  1892,  to  May  8,  1893. 

In  the  rooms  of  the  club  on  the  second  floor  of  the  Uni- 
versity Club,  116-118  Dearborn  Street,  from  October 
2,  1893,  to  April  30,  1906. 

In  the  rooms  of  the  club  on  the  sixth  floor  of  the  Or- 
chestra Building,  168  Michigan  Avenue,  from  May  14, 
1906,  to  April  18,  1910,  except  for  the  five  meetings 
listed  below. 

At  the  Onwentsia  Club,  Lake  Forest,  on  May  28,  1906, 
when  the  members  attending  the  meeting  were  the 
guests  of  President  George  H.  Holt. 

At  the  University  Club,  1 16-1 1 8  Dearborn  Street,  for  the 
annual  reunions  and  dinners  on  October  i,  1906,  Oc- 
tober 7,  1907,  and  October  5,  1908. 

At  the  Art  Institute,on  March  9, 1908;  "Ladies'  Night." 

At  the  CliflF  Dwellers  rooms  in  the  Orchestra  Building 
for  the  annual  reunion  and  dinner  on  October  4,  1909. 

In  the  rooms  of  the  club  on  the  tenth  floor  of  the  Fine 
Arts  Building,  410  South  Michigan  Avenue,  from  April 
25,  1 910,  onward  to  the  present  time,  except  on 
December  21,  1914,  when  the  meeting  was  held  at 
the  University  Club,  Monroe  Street  and  Michigan 
Avenue. 


[   204  ] 


(^i^  '^(^^hm(^£^  ^iQ&  ^^Q^*^  ^^i^i!'  4^!S^ 


Appendix    B 

OFFICERS   OF  THE  CLUB 

1874-1924 


PRESIDENTS 


Robert  CoUyer  .    .    . 
Charles  B.  Lawrence 
Hosmer  A.  Johnson 
Daniel  L.  Shorey  . 
Edward  G.  Mason 
William  F.  Poole  . 
Brooke  Herford 
Edwin  C.  Earned  . 
George  Howland   . 
Henry  A.  Huntington 
Charles  Gilman  Smith 
James  S.  Norton    .    . 
Alexander  C.  McClurg 
George  C.  Noyes  . 
James  L.  High  .    . 
James  Nevins  Hyde 
Franklin  H.  Head 
Clinton  Locke    .    . 
Lewis  H.  Boutell  . 
Horatio  L.  Wait    . 
William  Eliot  Furness 
John  Henry  Barrows 
Ephraim  A.  Otis    .    . 
George  W.  Smith  .    . 
Joseph  B.  Leake    .    . 

Victor 


1874-75  Henry  V.  Freeman    .    .    .  1898-99 

1875-76  George  L.  Paddock  .    .    1899-1900 

1876-77  Samuel  S.  Greeley     .    .    .  1900-01 

1877-78  Edwin  Burritt  Smith    .    .  1901-02 

1878-79  Clarence  A.  Burley   .    .    .  1902-03 

1879-80  Arba  N.  Waterman  .    .    .  1903-04 

1880-81  Frederic  W.  Root  .    .    .    .  1904-05 

1881-82  George  H.  Holt      ....  1905-06 

1882-83  Franklin  MacVeagh      .    .  1906-07 

1883-84  Charles  L.  Hutchinson     .  1907-08 

1884-85  Charles  Edward  Cheney  .  1908-09 

1885-86  Edward  Osgood  Brown    .  1909-10 

1886-87  Merritt  Starr 1910-11 

1887-88  William  Morton  Payne    .  1911-12 

1888-89  William  M.  R.  French     .  1912-13 

1889-90  Walter  Lowrie  Fisher   .    .  19 13-14 

1890-91  Charles  Bert  Reed    .    .    .  1914-15 

1891-92  Payson  Sibley  Wild  .    .    .  1915-16 

1892-93  James  Westfall  Thompson  1916-17 

1893-94  Clement  W.  Andrews   .    .  1917-18 

1894-95  George  Packard     ....  1918-19 

1895-96  Edwin  Herbert  Lewis  .    .  1919-20 

1896  Albert  Harris  Tolman  .    .  1920-21 

1896-97  Frederick  William  Gookin  1921-22 

1897-98  Irving  Kane  Pond     .    .    .  1922-23 

S.  Yarros  ....    1923-24 

[    205    ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


VICE-PRESIDENTS 

AND    CHAIRMEN    OF    THE    COMMITTEE    ON 
OFFICERS    AND    MEMBERS 


John  A.  Jameson  . 
Henry  Booth      .    , 
Edward  G.  Mason 
John  Crerar    .    . 
William  F.  Poole 
Benjamin  D.  Magruder 
Henry  A.  Huntington 
James  S.  Norton    .    . 
Alfred  Bishop  Mason 
William  Eliot  Furness 
Samuel  P.  McConnell 
Henry  T.  Steele 
James  L.  High  . 
Elbridge  G.  Keith 
Ephraim  A.  Otis 
Edgar  Madden  . 
Huntington  W.  Jackson 
Lewis  H.  Boutell  . 
Joseph  B.  Leake    . 
George  W.  Smith  . 
Abram  M.  Pence  . 
Frank  H.  Scott      . 
David  B.  Jones 
George  L.  Paddock 
Huntington  W.  Jackson 


874-75 
875-76 

876-77 

877-78 

878-79 

879-80 

880-81 

881-82 

882-83 

883-84 

884-85 

885-86 

886-87 


889-90 
890-91 
891-92 
892-93 
893-94 

894-95 
895-96 
896-97 
897-98 
898-99 


George  Packard     .    . 
Walter  M.  Howland. 
Charles  S.  Holt      .    . 
Charles  Gordon  Fuller 
Clement  W.  Andrews 
William  W.  Case  .    . 
James  J.  Wait    .    .    . 
Emilius  C.  Dudley    . 
John  J.  Glessner    .    . 
Charles  Gordon  Fuller 
James  J.  Wait    .    .    . 
Walter  L.  Fisher   .    . 
Louis  James  Block    . 
George  Noble  Carman 
Louis  Freeland  Post. 
Clarence  A.  Burley   . 
Clement  W.  Andrews 
Frank  S.  Johnson  .    . 
Albert  Harris  Tolman 
James  Clarke  Jeffery 
Roy  Clifton  Osgood . 
Henry  Milton  Wolf  . 
DeWitt  Cosgrove  Wing 
Herbert  John  Campbell 
Carl  B.  Roden   .    .    .    . 


9-1900 
900-01 
901-02 
902-03 
903^4 
904-05 
905-06 
906-07 
907-08 
908-09 
909-10 
910-11 
911-12 
912-13 

913-14 
914-15 
915-16 
916-17 
917-18 
918-19 
919-20 
920-21 
921-22 
922-23 
923-24 


VICE-PRESIDENTS 

AND    CHAIRMEN    OF    THE    COMMITTEE    ON 
ARRANGEMENTS    AND    EXERCISES 


David  Swing  .  .  . 
W'illiam  F.  Poole  .  . 
Charles  Gilman  Smith 
Thomas  F.  Withrow 
Henry  H.  Babcock  . 
George  C.  Clarke  .    . 


•  •  1874-75 

George  Howland   .    .    . 

.    1881-82 

•  •  1875-77 

Henry  A.  Huntington  . 

.    1882-83 

■  •  1877-78 

Joseph  Kirkland    .    .    . 

.    1883-84 

•  ■  1878-79 

Walter  C.  Earned.    .    . 

.    1884-85 

.  .  1879-80 

James  Nevins  Hyde.    . 

.    1885-86 

.  ,  1880-81 

George  C.  Noyes  .    .    . 

.    1886-87 

[  206 


Officers  of  the  Club 


Franklin  H.  Head 
Horatio  L.  Wait    .    . 
Daniel  Goodwin     .    . 
Henry  B.  Mason   .    . 
Clarence  A.  Burley    . 
Slason  Thompson 
William  Eliot  Furness 
Frank  Gilbert 
Henry  S.  Boutell 
Edward  O.  Brown 
Walter  L.  Fisher 
Horace  S.  Oakley 
William  P.  Sidley 
Irving  K.  Pond 
Clarence  A.  Burley 
George  Packard 
Frederic  W.  Root 
George  H.  Holt . 


1887-88  Merritt  Starr     .    .    .    . 

1888-89  James  W.  Thompson    . 

1889-90  Frederick  A.  Smith  .    . 

1890-91  William  Morton  Payne 

1891-92  Charles  Bert  Reed     .    . 

1892-93  Payson  S.  Wild  .    .    .    . 

1893-94  William  N.  C.  Carlton 

1894-95  Winfield  Scott  Harpole 

1895-96  Frank  Seward  Johnson 

1896-97  Victor  Yarros     .... 

1897-98  William  E.  Dodd  .    .    . 

1898-99  DeWitt  Cosgrove  Wing 

899-1900  George  Packard     .    .    . 

1900-01  Henry  P'rederick  Cope. 

1901-02  Theodore  Jessup    .    .    . 

1902-03  Paul  Vincent  Harper    . 

1903-04  Albert  Harris  Tolman  . 

1904-05  Charles  P.  Megan     .    . 


Beveridge  H.  Moore 


1905-06 
1 906-07 
I 907-08 
1908-09 
1909-10 
1910-11 
1911-12 
1912-13 

1913-14 
1914-15 
1915-16 
1916-17 
1917-18 
1918-19 
1 9 1 9-20 
1920-21 
1921-22 
1922-23 


1923-24 


VICE-PRESIDENTS 

AXD    CHAIRMEN    OF    THE    COMMITTEE    ON 
ROOMS    AND    FINANCE 


James  R.  Doolittle  .  . 
Daniel  L.  Shorey  .  .  . 
James  L.  High  .... 
Huntington  W'.  Jackson 
John  G.  Shortall  .  .  . 
Bryan  Lathrop  .... 
Henry  D.  Lloyd  .  .  . 
Walter  C.  Earned .  .  . 
George  L.  Paddock  .  . 
Alexander  C.  McClurg 
W'alter  C.  Earned  .  .  . 
Bryan  Lathrop  .... 
John  NL  Clark  .... 
Clarence  A.  Burley  .  . 
John  G.  Shortall  .  .  . 
Arthur  D.  Wheeler  .  . 
George  K.  Dauchy  .  . 
Aldace  F.  Walker  .    .    . 


1874 

874-77 
877-78 
878-79 
879-80 
880-81 
881-82 
882-83 
883-84 
884-85 
885-86 


889-90 
890-91 
891-92 
892-93 
893-94 


John  J.  Glessner  .  . 
James  A.  Hunt  .  .  . 
Henry  V.  Freeman  . 
Edwin  Burritt  Smith 
Edward  P.  Bailey.  . 
Edward  O.  Brown 
Frederic  W.  Root  .  . 
Mason  Bross  .... 
John  L.  Shortall  .  . 
James  J.  W^ait  .  .  . 
Frederick  Greeley.  . 
Walter  L.  Fisher  .  . 
Mason  Bross  .... 
Edward  P.  Bailey.  . 
Charles  Chauncey  Cu 
John  Daniel  Wild  .  . 
Sigmund  Zeisler  .  . 
Arthur  John  Mason  . 


1894-95 
1895-96 
1896-97 
1897-98 
1898-99 
1899-1900 
1900-01 
1901-02 
1 902-04 
1904-05 
1905-06 
1 906-07 
I 907-08 
1908-09 
rtiss  1909-14 
1914-15 
1915-17 
1917-18 


[  207  1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Charles  Bert  Reed 
Arthur  John  Mason 


1918-19      Irving  Kane  Pond     .    .    .    1921-22 
1919-21       Edwin  Lyman  Lobdell     .    1922-24 


CORRESPONDING  SECRETARIES 


Horatio  N.  Powers    .    . 

1874-76 

Charles  F.  Bradley   .    .    . 

1898-99 

Leander  T.  Chamberlain 

1876-77 

Mason  Bross 1 899-1900 

James  Nevins  Hyde  .    . 

1877-78 

William  Morton  Payne    . 

[900-01 

Brooke  Herford     .    .    . 

1878-79 

Louis  J.  Block 

[901-02 

George  Howland   .    .    . 

1879-80 

William  M.  Salter     .    .    . 

[902-03 

Arthur  Little 

1880-81 

Frederick  I.  Carpenter     . 

[903-04 

Henry  B.  Mason   .    .    . 

1881-82 

Horace  H.  Martin     .    .    . 

[ 904-05 

Henry  W.  Raymond 

1882-83 

Azel  F.  Hatch 

[905-06 

Charles  Norman  Fay    . 

1883-84 

Merritt  Starr ] 

906-07 

Cyrus  H.  McCormick  . 

1884-85 

Frank  H.  Montgomery    . 

907-08 

Charles  Edward  Cheney 

1885-86 

John  C.  Grant 

908-10 

Clinton  Locke    .... 

1886-87 

Frederic  A.  Delano  .    .    . 

[910-11 

David  N.  Utter.    .    .    . 

1887-88 

Payson  S.  Wild 1 

91 1-12 

Arthur  Little 

1888-89 

John  Ward  Amberg  .    .    . 

912-13 

John  Coleman  Adams  . 

1889-90 

Frederic  Schiller  Hebard 

[913-14 

Thomas  C.  Hall     .    .    . 

1890-91 

Charles  H.  Taylor     .    .    . 

[914-15 

Edward  I.  Galvin  .    .    . 

1891-92 

Henry  E.  Legler    .... 

[915-16 

Herrick  Johnson    .    .    . 

1892-93 

Andrew  C.  McLaughlin    . 

[916-17 

Theodore  P.  Prudden  . 

1893-94 

Theodore  Jessup    .... 

[917-19 

John  H.  Barrows  .    .    . 

1894-95 

George  Linnasus  Marsh    . 

[919-20 

Daniel  Goodwin     .    .    . 

1895-96 

Beveridge  Harshaw  Moore 

[920-21 

Emil  G.  Hirsch  .... 

1896-97 

Henri  C.  E.  David    .    .    . 

[921-22 

William  W.  Fenn  .    .    . 

1897-98 

Leroy  Truman  Goble   .    . 

[922-23 

Georg 

;  Ellis  Dawson    .    .    1923-24 

RECORDING  SECRETARIES 


Edward  G.  Mason     . 
William  Eliot  Furness 


1874-76       Frederick  W.  Gookin    .    1 880-1920 
1876-80      Payson  S.  Wild 1920-24 


William  F.  Coolbaugh 
Franklin  MacVeagh. 
Edward  G.  Mason    . 


TREASURERS 

1874      William  Eliot  Furness  .  .    1876-80 

.    1874-75      Frederick  W.  Gookin    .  1880-1920 

.    1875-76      Payson  S.  Wild.    .    .    .  .    1920-24 


[    208 


Officers  of  the  Club 


CHAIRMEN   OF   THE   COMMITTEE   ON 
PUBLICATIONS 


Lewis  H.  Boutell  . 
Allen  B.  Pond    .    . 
James  Nevins  Hyde 
William  Morton  Payne 
Clement  W.  Andrews 
Louis  J.  Block   .    .    . 
Merritt  Starr     .    .    . 
William  P.  Sidley  .    . 
Thomas  E.  Donnelley 
William  Morton  Payne 
James  W.  Thompson 


1895-97 
1897-99 
899-1901 
1901-02 
1 902-03 
1903-04 
I 904-05 
1905-06 
1 906-07 
1907-08 
iqo8-10 


George  Linnasus 


George  E.  Dawson  . 
Albert  H.  Tolman  . 
Clement  W.  Andrews 
Payson  Sibley  Wild  . 
James  W.  Thompson 
Herbert  J.  Campbell 
Clarence  A.  Burley  . 
Louis  Martin  Sears  . 
Carl  Bismarck  Roden 
Leroy  Truman  Goble 
Charles  Bert  Reed.  . 
Marsh    .   1923-24 


910-11 
911-12 
912-14 
914-15 
915-16 
916-17 
917-19 
919-20 
920-21 
921-22 
922-23 


[    ^09    ] 


s4'v?  ^<Ki>?  .-xi-'i  M'-rt  i^»v^  s,}--^  ^M  ."vi-^  Jv-J'*^  Ki'-^  Si  W  .-^i-rt  jvW  .-vf*^  M'v.  ixviA 
?»?  rj»>  cn&"?  cu>V  (tift^  (^^  gfr^  g»^  s  ^ftt'  aW^  ff)ft  1-^  ^^r  ^^^ -r  r.-ifi  T  n  ^  -.-•'  rr#B 

*T".Vft  A^V-N<i.*lT^»*A  JTT^TT?!. .^T".T?^ .TT^^Jt  ^S^^^Tt  ."tl-VWi  JtXVTJ^  Jlt^VA .*"•••'*    *-»-.-•»    w.-.-^    ^t..-«*   ^.t.t.i*   .Sx'TT]^ 


Appendix  C 

ROLL  OF  MEMBERS 

From  March  13,  1874,  to 
September  30,  1925 


RESIDENCE  in  Chicago  or  vicinity  is  to  be  under- 
stood when  no  place  is  named.  All  of  the  Nonresi- 
^dent  Members  except  the  Associates  and  a  few  of 
the  Honorary  Members  were  Resident  Members  when 
they  were  elected.  The  addresses  appended  to  their  names 
are  their  last  known  places  of  residence,  or,  if  not  living, 
the  places  where  they  resided  at  the  time  of  their  decease. 
An  *  indicates  honorary  membership;  a  f  associate  mem- 
bership. 


Members 

Gordon  Crowell  Abbott 
Nathan  Abbott 

Katonah,  New  York 
Alonzo  Abernathy 
William  Keli.y  Ackerman 
Charles  Adams 

Honolulu,  Hawaii 
Charles  True  Adams 
George  Everett  Adams 
John  Coleman  Adams 

Hartford,  Connecticut 
Joseph  Adams 
Samuel  Adams 
Sidney  Adler 


Date  of  Election 

December  i8,  1922 
January  16,  1893 

February  26,  1877 
November  25,  1878 
January  3,  1876 

October  18,  1875 
April  22,  1876 
May  25,  1885 

January  3,  1876 
February  7,  1921 
January  28,  1918 

[211  ] 


Date  Membership 
Terminated 


June  19,  1878 

Resigned,  January  14,  1895 

Died,  May  6,  1924 

Died,  February  28,  1877 
Died,  October  5,  1917 
Died,  June  22,  1923 


Resigned,  October  19,  1925 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Members 

Victor  Clifton  Alderson 

Golden,  Colorado 
Owen  Franklin  Alois 

Paris,  France 
Charles  Henry  Aldrich 
Charles  Linn^us  Allen 
Rudolph  Altrocchi 
John  Ward  Amberg 
Edward  Scribner  Ames 
Galusha  Anderson 

Newtonville,  Massachusetts 
Norman  Kellogg  Anderson 
Samuel  Worcester  Andrew 

Boston,  Massachusetts 
Clement  Walker  Andrews 
Edmund  Andrews 
Edmund  Andrews,  2d. 
Edward  Wyllys  Andrews 
Frank  Taylor  Andrews 
John  Wallingford  Andrews 
Samuel  Appleton 
Alan  Vasey  Arragon 

Paris,  France 
George  Allison  Armour 

Princeton,  New  Jersey 
Trevor  Arnett 
Francis  Marion  Arnold 
Isaac  Newton  Arnold 
Edward  Gowan  Asay 
Edward  Everett  Ayer 
Benjamin  Franklin  Ayer 
Henry  Homes  Babcock 
Henry  Martyn  Bacon 
Wilson  Marvin  Backus 
Paul  Valentine  Bacon 

Boston,  Massachusetts 
Edward  Payson  Bailey 
Alfred  Landon  Baker 
Jesse  Albigense  Baldwin 
Edgar  Addison  Bancroft 
Henry  Clay  Bannard 
Lewellys  Franklin  Barker 
Cecil  Barnes 
Cecil  Barnes,  Jr. 
John  Peter  Barnes 
William  Henry  Barnum 


Date  of  Election 
October  21,  1901 

March  25,  1876 

January  15,  1894 
April  25,  1887 
November  7,  1921 
March  5,  1900 
April  26,  191 5 
November  25,  1878 

March  16,  1903 
December  20,  1875 

December  23,  1895 
April  21,  1874 
April  6,  1925 
January  9, 1888 
February  2,  1891 
November  16,  1874 
April  22,  1876 
November  3,  1919 

February  23,  1880 

October  22,  1917 
April  30,  1917 
March  31,  1874 
March  13,  1874 
December  3,  1888 
April  21,  1874 
December  6,  1875 
November  26,  1894 
October  21,  1901 
December  13,  1909 

March  i,  1886 
October  21,  1901 
December  4,  1905 
November  28,  1892 
December  21,  1874 
April  1 4,  1902 
December  20,  1875 
November  11,  1907 
May  10,  1920 
October  18,  1875 

[    212    ] 


Date  Membership 
Terminated 


Died,  August  5,  1925 

February  28,  1911 
Resigned,  June  17,  i8( 


Died,  July  21,  1918 

June  I,  1909 

Resigned,  October  20,  191 1 


Resigned,  February  i,  1897 

February  20,  1895 
May  22,  1907 
Died,  May  8,  1880 
June  II,  1883 


Resigned,  May  26,  1919 

Died,  April  24,  1884 
August  31,  1885 
Resigned,  September  22,  1893 
Died,  April  6,  1903 
Died,  November  7,  1881 
Resigned,  August  i,  1905 
Resigned,  January  6, 1905 


Died,  March  28,  1925 
Resigned,  April  3,  1907 
Resigned,  September  29,  1909 
Died,  July  28,  1925 
Resigned,  March  25,  1878 
Resigned,  September  30,  1903 
Died,  March  19,  1880 
Resigned,  May  16,  1912 
Resigned,  October  i,  1922 
Resigned,  September  30,  1899 


Roll  of  Members 


Members 

Elwvn  Alfred  Barrom 
John  Henry  Barrows 

Oherlin,  Ohio 
Adolphus  Clay  Bartlett 
Frederic  Clay  Bartlett 
William  Alvin  Bartlett 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
George  Preston  Barton 
Alfred  Bartow 
John  Foster  Bass 
Robert  Perkins  Bass 

Peterboro,  New  Hampshire 
Fletcher  Stewart  Bassett 
Edson  Sunderland  Bastin 
George  Batchelor 

Cambridge,  Massachusetts 
Henry  Moore  Bates 

Ann  Arbor,  Michigan 
Robert  Peck  Bates 
Jens  Christian  Bay 
William  Gerrish  Beale 
Alfred  Beck 
Henry  Holmes  Belfield 
William  Thomas  Belfield 
Cyrus  Bentley 
Frank  Billings 
John  Milton  Binckley 
Henry  Walker  Bishop 
Richard  Mervin  Bissell 
Timothy  Beach  Blackstone 
Edward  Tyler  Blair 
Edward  William  Blatchford 

London,  England 
Eliphalet  Huntington 

Blatchford 
Eliphalet  Wickes 

Blatchford 
Frank  Wickes  Blatchford 
Orville  Justus  Bliss 
Samuel  Bliss 
Louis  James  Block 
Henry  Williams  Blodgett 
James  St.  Clair  Boal 
Charles  Carroll  Bonney 
Henry  Booth 
John  Borden 


Date  of  Election 

May  4,  1891 
January  9,  1888 

February  28,  1881 
October  28,  1901 
March  31,  1874 

April  17,  1905 
February  23,  1880 
May  18,  1903 
May  18,  1903 

November  16,  1885 
March  6,  1922 
May  4,  1883 

April  6,  1896 

January  23,  1899 
May  26,  191 6 
January  9,  1888 
May  26,  1919 
February  29,  1884 
December  3,  1888 
October  19,  1883 
February  6,  1888 
March  13,  1874 
May  4,  1874 
January  16,  1893 
January  29, 1877 
April  28,  1882 
January  23, 191 i 


March  27,  1905 

December  23,  1878 
January  15, 1905 
December  21,  1874 
March  25,  1876 
May  21,  1894 
January  27,  1882 
March  24,  1882 
March  17,  1874 
March  13,  1874 
March  31,  1874 


Date  Membership 
Terminated 
April  17,  1894 
Died,  June  2,  1902 

Died,  May  30,  1922 
Resigned,  October  i,  1903 
Died,  January  16,  1917 

Resigned,  September  25,  1908 
August  31,  1885 
Resigned,  January  31,  1911 


Died,  October  19,  1895 
Resigned  September  12,  1925 
Died,  June  21,  1923 


Resigned,  September  30,  1909 

February  i,  1923 

Resigned,  September  30,  1894 

Died,  January  5,  1912 

Resigned,  August  14,  1896 
Resigned,  September  28,  1909 
January  29, 1876 
Resigned,  June  11,  1891 
Resigned,  October  23,  1897 
Resigned,  May  24, 1886 
Resigned,  July  15,  1897 
Died,  January  25,  1914 


Died,  December  23,  1905 

Died,  January  25,  1914 
May  22,  1908 
Died,  April  9,  1875 
Died,  March  18,  1891 

Died,  February  9,  1905 
Died,  October  30,  1887 
Resigned,  February  4,  1884 
September  1 1,  1885 
January  29, 1876 


[     213    ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Members 

Henry  Sherman  Boutell 

Washington,  D.  C. 
Lewis  Henry  Boutell 
George  Kenney  Bowden 
Ingolf  Krog  Boyesen 
William  Brace 
William  Brackett 
Charles  Frederick  Bradley 

Boston,  Massachusetts 
William  Harrison  Bradley 

Ridgefield,  Connecticut 
William  Henry  Bradley 
Melvin  Amos  Brannon  f 

Helena,  Montana 
Frank  Chapin  Bray 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
Norman  Bridge 
Horace  James  Bridges 
Charles  Hughes  Brittan 
James  Andrew  Brixton 
Arthur  Brooks 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
Mason  Bross 
Edward  Osgood  Brown 
George  William  Brown 
Hubert  Sanford  Brown 

Beaulieu  siir  Mer,  France 
Francis  Fisher  Browne* 

Santa  Barbara,  California 
Francis  Granger  Browne 
Benjamin  Franklin  Buck 
Benjamin  Reynolds  Bulkeley 

Concord,  Massachusetts 
FoLLETT  Wilkinson  Bull 
Clarence  Augustus  Burley 
Daniel  Hudson  Burnham 
John  Curtis  Burroughs 
Leonard  Asbury  Busby 
Francis  Read  Butler 
George  Frank  Butler 

Attica,  Indiana 
Henry  Turman  Byford 
James  Christopher  Cahill 
Walter  John  Cahill 
William  James  Calhoun 
George  Cook  Campbell 


Date  of  Election 
March  24,  1882 


Date  Membership 
Terminated 


December  3,  1888  Died,  January  16,  i 

February  4,  1924 

March  7,  1892 

May  6,  1919 

February  21,  iSy^ 

April  19,  1886 


Resigned,  July  i,  1902 
February  i,  1922 
Died,  June  14,  1888 


March  28,  1881 

November  i,  1886 
January  16, 1922 

January  15, 1905 

December  15,  1919 
March  13,  191 6 
January  3,  1885 
November  7,  1921 
March  31,  1874 

September  29,  1897 
March  17,  1874 
November  26,  1894 
March  31,  1874 

March  13,  1874 

October  28,  1901 
May  26,  19 19 
December  23,  1895 

November  9,  1903 
April  23,  1877 
May  16,  1892 
March  13,  1874 
May  15,  1899 
May  26,  1879 
April  21,  1913 

November  30,  1908 
November  5,  1923 
November  8,  1920 
March  12,  1906 
October  5,  1874 

[    214    ] 


Died,  March  i,  1892 

Died,  January  10,  1925 

February  i,  1895 

Died,  July  10,  1895 

Resigned,  May  23,  1912 
Died,  December  8,  1923 

Died,  April  7,  1917 

Died,  May  11,  1913 

Resigned,  February  i,  1904 

May  22,  1907 

Died,  June  i,  1912 
Died,  April  21,  1892 
Resigned,  September  11,  1905 
Resigned,  February  19,  1883 
Died,  June  22,  1921 

Resigned,  January  20,  1919 

Resigned,  February  i,  1924 
Died,  September  19,  1916 
Died,  May  12,  1885 


Roll  of  Members 


Members 

John  McRae  Cameron 
Herbert  John  Campbell 
Andrew  Jackson  Canfield 

Brooklyn,  Sew  York 
Charles  Guy  Carleton 
William  Newnham  Chathn 

Carleton 
George  Noble  Carman 
Frederick.  Ives  Carpenter 
James  Gray  Carr 
Leslie  Carter 
Laurence  Arthur  Carton 
William  Warren  Case 
George  Willis  Cass 
Edwin  Henry  Cass  els 
Robert  Carl  Scott 

Catherwood 
Leander  Trowbridge 

Chamberlain 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
Buckingham  Chandler 
Henry  Porter  Chandler 
William  Henry  Chappell 
Thomas  Septimus  Chard 
Charles  Meigs  Charnley 
James  Charnley 
Charles  Wells  Chase 
Hobart  Chatfield-Taylor 
William  Ludlow  Chenery 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
Charles  Edward  Cheney 
Frank  Spooner  Churchill 
Clement  Long  Clapp 
Alexander  Beattie  Clark 

Brooklyn,  New  York 
Jacob  Wendell  Clark 
John  Marshall  Clark 
Eliot  Channing  Clarke 

Boston,  Massachusetts 
Frederick  Wilcox  Clarke 

Boston,  Massachusetts 
George  Clinton  Clarke 
William  Hull  Clarke 
Horace  William  Shaler 

Cleveland 
John  Wills  Cloud 


Date  of  Election 

November  5,  1923 
January  4, 191 5 
March  13,  1893 

December  21,  1883 

November  8,  1909 
December  23,  1895 
January  23, 1899 
NLiy  15,  1922 
May  26,  1879 
February  i,  1909 
November  11,  1889 
May  4,  1891 
November  8,  1909 


Date  Membership 
Terminated 


Died,  August  23,  1908 

Died,  August  28,  1887 

Resigned,  June  19,  1915 

Resigned,  June  3,  1909 

Resigned,  September  7,  1893 
Resigned,  February  i,  1923 
Resigned,  September  28,  1908 
October  i,  1901 


November  26,  1900       Resigned,  January  1^,  ic 


April  21,  1874 

April  26,  1915 
December  17,  1917 
January  27,  1882 
March  31,  1874 
December  30,  1881 
February  28,  1881 
March  5,  1900 
March  7,  1892 
May  24,  1915 

November  22,  1880 
December  23,  1895 
November  14,  1910 
May  26,  1919 

November  10,  1924 
January  29, 1877 
October  5,  1874 

April  28,  1879 

October  18,  1875 
May  4,  1874 

April  21,  1874 
December  23,  1895 


Died,  May  9,  1913 

Resigned, October  i,  1917 

Resigned,  February  9,  1886 
Resigned,  January,  31  1893 
Resigned,  September  29,  1884 
Resigned,  May  14,  1895 
September  15,  1903 
Resigned,  September  30,  1897 


Died,  November  15,  1916 
Resigned,  September  19,  1902 
Resigned,  October  i,  191 8 


Resigned,  December  29,  1894 
Died,  May  14,  1921 

Died,  June  i,  191 8 

Died,  April  5,  1887 
Died,  August  6,  1878 

Resigned,  November  18,  1878 
Resigned,  October  i,  1897 


[  215  1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Members 

Henry  Ives  Cobb 
John  Adams  Cole 

ROSSETTER  GlEASON   CoLE 

Algernon  Coleman 
Robert  Collyer 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
Wells  Morrison  Cook 
William  Finley  Coolbaugh 
Edwin  Gilbert  Cooley 


Stoughton  Cooley 
Frederick  Shurtleff 

coolidge 
Robert  Warren  Conant 
Avery  Coonley 
Henry  Frederick  Cope 
Frederick  Kent  Copeland 
David  Timothy  Corbin 
John  Murry  Corse 
John  Merle  Coulter 
Frederick  Courtney 

Neiv  York,  N.  Y. 
Max  Henry  Cowen 
Arthur  Joseph  Cramp 
Frank  Philip  Crandon 
Charles  Richard  Crane 
John  George  Crawford 
John  Crerar 
Alfred  Careno  Croftan 
Lester  Curtis 
Charles  Chauncey  Curtiss 
Charles  Sidney  Cutting 
George  Kellogg  Dauchy 
Samuel  Dauchy 
Henri  Charles  Edouard 

David 
Bradley  Moore  Davis 

Ann  Arbor,  Michigan 
Charles  Wilder  Davis 
Edward  Parker  Davis 

Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania 
Nathan  Smith  Davis,  Jr. 
Chester  Mitchell  Dawes 
George  Ellis  Dawson 
Albert  Morgan  Day 


Date  of  Election 

February  i,  1891 
December  23,  1895 
December  11,  1903 
April  30,  1 91 7 
March  13,  1874 

May  21,  1918 
March  13,  1874 
February  4,  1901 

and 
November  3,  1919 
February  2,  1903 

February  26,  1894 
November  9,  1891 
April  3,  1899 
January  14,  1907 
November  11,  1901 
November  16,  1885 
February  i,  1875 
December  23,  1895 
December  27,  1880 

December  6,  1920 
April  6,  1925 
November  21,  1904 
February  4,  1901 
February  19,  1906 
December  6,  1875 
February  7,  X921 
January  I4,  1907 
December  6,  1886 
November  22,  1909 
November  12,  1888 
May  21,  1923 

November  i,  1915 
February  20,  1899 

October  25,  1897 
January  3,  1885 

November  12,  1888 
October  25,  1880 
June  I,  1891 
January  29,  1877 

[  216  ] 


Date  Membership 
Terminated 
Resigned,  December  8,  1894 
Resigned,  May  29,  1917 
Resigned,  February  i,  1910 
Resigned,  September  27,  1919 
Died,  December  i,  1912 


June  10,  1876 

Resigned,  February  i,  1907 

Died,  September  28,  1923 
Resigned,  September  22,  1907 

Resigned,  September  24,  1896 
Resigned,  October  i,  1893 
Resigned,  February  7,  1916 
Died,  August  3,  1923 
Resigned,  February  i,  1907 
February  5,  1895 
June  10,  1876 
Resigned,  October  13,  1895 
Died,  December  29,  1918 


Resigned,  January  31,  1913 
Resigned,  May  i,  1912 
Resigned, October  i,  1906 
Died,  October  19,  1889 


Resigned,  September  15,  1902 


Died,  December  15,  li 


Resigned,  May  17,  1901 
August  31,  1885 

Resigned,  July  20,  1893 


Roll  of  Members 


Members 

William  Horace  Day 

Bridgeport,  Connecticut 
Charles  William  Deering 
Joseph  Holton  Defrees 
Thomas  Francis  Delaney 
Frederic  Adrian  Delano 

If-'ashington,  D.  C. 
Franklin  Denison 
Thomas  Dent 


Hevliger  Adams  deWindt 


Wirt  Dexter 

Jacob  McGavock  Dickinson 


James  Spencer  Dickinson 
Fletcher  Dobvns 
William  Edward  Dodd 
Edmund  James  Doering 
William  Elkanah  Doggett 
Thomas  Elliott  Donnelley 
James  Rood  Doolittle 
James  Rood  Doolittle,  Jr. 
George  Amos  Dorsey 
George  Driggs 
Garrett  Droppers 

IVilliamstown,  Massachusetts 
Emilius  Clark  Dudley 


Samuel  John  Duncan-Clark 
Charles  Analdo  Dupee 
Eugene  Dupee 
Henry  Rogers  Durkee 
Louis  Dyer 

Oxford,  England 
Arthur  Dyren forth 
Lawrence  Carmichael  Earle 

Grand  Rapids,  Michigan 
Sidney  Corning  Eastman 


James  Heron  Eckels 


Date  of  Election 
February  13,  1893 

April  16,  1888 
April  26,  1915 
October  23,  191 1 
February  i,  1897 

November  16,  1874 
NLirch  I,  1886 

and 
♦October  10,  1910 
March  2,  1891 

and 
December  19,  1898 
April  19,  1886 
October  28,  1901 

and 
February  15,  1915 
May  I,  1916 
March  9,  1914 
March  11,  191 2 
May  24,  1915 
April  21,  1874 
December  2,  1901 
March  17,  1874 
December  7,  1874 
April  28,  1914 
December  3,  1888 
March  u,  1907 

March  28,  1881 

and 
April  21,  1919 
November  5,  1923 
March  15,  1875 
November  10,  1902 
April  8,  1890 
April  23,  1877 

NLiy  13,  1918 
January  28,  1878 

April  16,  1894 

and 
January  28,  1918 
NLirch'28,  1898 


Date  Membership 
Terminated 


Resigned,  June  18,  I892 
Resigned,  October  i,  1916 


Resigned,  May  1,  1901 
Resigned,  September  30,  1908 

Died,  December  25,  1924 
Resigned,  September  26,  1893 

Resigned,  September  26,  1902 
Died,  May  17,  1890 
Resigned,  September  16,  1904 

Resigned,  February  7,  1916 
Resigned,  January  3,  1919 
Resigned,  October,  i  1925 

Resigned,  February  29,  1916 
Died,  April  3,  1876 

June  II,  1877 
June  II,  1877 
Resigned,  October  i,  1915 
Died,  March  19,  1892 


Resigned,  February  4,  1916 


Resigned,  September  29,  1900 
Resigned,  October  i,  1904 
Resigned,  January  15,  1895 
Died,  July  20,  1908 

Died,  June  14,  1920 
Died,  November  21,  1921 

Resigned,  February  i,  1898 


Resigned,  March  26,  1904 


[    217    ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Members 

Marquis  Eaton 
Arthur  Robin  Edwards 
Charles  Raymond  Ege 
George  William  Eggers 
Francis  Howard  Eldridge 
Frank  Macager  Elliot 
James  William  Ellsworth 
Joseph  Washington  Errant 
Lynden  Evans 
Godfrey  John  Eyler 
Nathaniel  Kellogg  Fairbanr 
David  Fales 
Samuel  Fallows 
Albert  George  Farr 
Marvin  Andrus  Farr 
John  Villiers  Farwell,  Jr. 
Henry  Baird  Favill 
William  Lyman  Fawcett 
Charles  Norman  Fay 
Edwin  Stanton  Fechheimer 
Bernhard  Felsenthal 
William  Wallace  Fenn 

Cambridge,  Massachusetts 
Robert  Collyer  Fergus 
Charles  Newton  Fessenden 
Henry  Field 
Walter  Taylor  Field 
Morris  Fishbein 
George  Purnell  Fisher 
Walter  Lowrie  Fisher 
George  Foster  Fiske 
Robert  Hall  Fleming 
George  Alanson  Follansbee 
Trowbridge  Brigham  Forbush 
James  Berwick  Forgan 
Theobald  Forstall 
James  William  Forsyth 
Robert  Forsyth 
Richard  Norman  Foster 
Charles  Henry  Fowler 
Jerome  New  Frank 
Henry  Brewster  Freeman 
Henry  Varnum  Freeman 
Charles  Wallace  French 
William  Merchant 

Richardson  French 


Date  oj  Election 

December  6,  1920 
December  2,  1895 
October  30,  1922 
May  18,  1908 
December  22,  1924 
February  26,  1894 
November  26,  1894 
February  15,  1904 
February  15,  191 5 
March  3,  1924 
March  24,  1882 
June  7,  1875 
May  23,  1881 
February  4,  1901 
June  4,  1894 
February  29,  1884 
May  20,  1895 
May  3,  1875 
December  23,  1878 
November  11,  1901 
April  21,  1874 
March  13    1893 

November  12,  1917 
November  25,  1878 
April  25,  1887 
May  26,  1919 
May  8,  1922 
March  II,  1907 
March  2,  1891 
March  13,  1893 
December  6,  1886 
December  23,  1895 
January  29,  1877 
January  8,  1900 
May  4,  1883 
April  22,  1876 
December  27,  1880 
April  21,  1874 
March  13,  1874 
December  15,  1919 
December  18,  1916 
December  29,  1882 
December  19,  1898 

March  31,  1874 

[     218     ] 


Date  Membership 
Terminated 
Died,  September  19,  1897 
Resigned,  October  i,  1925 

Resigned,  September  30,  1915 

Resigned,  January  27,  1902 
Resigned,  June  10,  1898 
Resigned,  June  9,  1909 
Resigned,  October  i,  1921 

Died,  March  29,  1903 
Resigned,  September  30,  1905 
September  17,  1891 
Died,  December  22,  1913 
Resigned,  June  12,  1900 
Resigned,  January  31,  1903 
Resigned,  September  30,  1915 
June  I,  1877 
Resigned,  July  1 1    1903 
Resigned,  February  i,  1904 
Resigned,  November  28,  1874 


Resigned,  September  29,  i? 
Died,  December  22,  1890 
Resigned,  October  i,  1922 

Resigned,  April  17,  191 7 


Resigned,  September  27,  1898 
Resigned,  September  29,  1909 
Resigned,  October  13,  1890 
Resigned,  October  i,  1901 
Resigned,  September  5,  1889 
Resigned,  September  5,  1884 
Resigned,  September  7,  1893 
Resigned,  May  26,  1877 
November  i,  1875 


Died,  September  5,  1916 
Resigned,  January  31,  1913 

Died,  June  3,  1914 


Roll  of  Members 


Members 

Herbert  Jacob  Friedman- 
Charles  Gordon  Fuller 

Benton  Harbor,  Michigan 
Melville  Weston  Fuller 

IVashington,  D.  C. 
Charles  William  Fullerton 
Henry  Jewett  Furber,  Jr. 
William  Eliot  Furness 


Fredrik.  Herman  Gade 
Lyman  Judson  Gage 

Point  Loma,  California 
Edward  Ilsley  Galvin 

Berkeley,  California 
Edward  James  Gardiner 
George  Gardner 
Victor  Garwood 
Frank.  Gilbert 
Simeon  Gilbert 
Harry  Orrin  Gillet 
Thomas  Lewis  Gilmer 
Irwin  Thoburn  Gilruth 
John  George  McBeth 

Glessner 
John  Jacob  Glessner 
Leroy  Truman  Goble 
John  Paul  Goode 
Daniel  Goodwin 
Frederick  William  Gookin 
John  Cowles  Grant 
Frederick.  Greeley 
Samuel  Sewall  Greeley 


Oliver  Bourne  Green 
Charles  Augustus  Gregory 
Stephen  Strong  Gregory 
Otto  Gresham 
Walter  Quintin  Gresham 
Henry  Foster  Grierson 

Lxindon,  England 
Thomas  Williams  Grover 
Hans  Ernst  Gronow 
Mark  Emmet  Guerin 

tVashington,  D.  C. 


Date  of  Election 

November  8,  1909 
December  ai,  1883 


Date  Membership 
Terminated 
Resigned,  January  24,  1917 


February  28,  1878         Died,  July  4,  1910 


February  28,  1881 
February  26,  1894 
NLirch  13,  1874 

and 
*April  27,  1908 
April  3,  1899 
February  29,  1884 

January  9,  1888 

November  29,  1884 
November  28,  1881 
November  24,  1902 
December  22,  1879 
March  31,  1874 
November  8,  1920 
November  21,  1904 
April  8,  1918 

January  8,  1900 
May  4,  1883 
November  3,  1919 
January  22,  1917 
November  22,  1880 
February  26,  1877 
January  9, 1888 
May  4,  1883 
May  4,  1874 

and 
*  April  27,  1908 
June  I,  1891 
January  18,  1875 
February  6,  1888 
November  9,  1903 
March  9,  1885 
May  6,  1895 

January  28, 1878 
February  14,  1916 
May  13,  1918 

[     ^19    ] 


Died,  December  6,  1900 
Resigned,  January  28,  1907 
Resigned,  January  31,  1908 

Died,  July  19,  1913 
Resigned,  October  i,  1903 


Died,  in  1908 

Resigned,  February  i,  1902 
Resigned,  January  28,  1886 
Resigned,  May  14,  1908 
Resigned,  October  i,  1896 
Resigned,  June  13,  1876 

Resigned,  February  i,  1919 


Resigned,  January  31,  1902 


Resigned,  January  31,  191J 
Resigned,  September  30,  li 

Died,  March  21,  1914 
Died,  January  21,  1912 


Died,  March  8,  1916 
Resigned,  October  i,  1906 
November  i,  1897 
Resigned,  September  23,  1895 
Resigned,  February  i,  1910 
Resigned,  April  4,  1887 
Died,  June  20,  1923 

Died,  November  17,  1893 
Resigned,  September  30,  1917 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Members 

Frank  Wakely  Gunsaulus 

Karleton  Hackett 

Sir  Francis  Seymour  Haden* 

IVoodcote,  Hampshire,  England 
Edwin  Moses  Hale 
John  Philetus  Hale 
William  Browne  Hale 
Eugene  Judson  Hale 
Thomas  Cuming  Hall 
John  Julius  Halsey 
Alfred  Ernest  Hamill 
Charles  Davison  Hamill 
Edgar  Lockwood  Hamilton 
Arthur  Little  Hamilton 

Lawrence,  Massachusetts 
John  Henry  Hamline 
John  Leonard  Hancock 
Norman  Hapgood 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
Martin  D  Hardin 
Edward  John  Harding 

Seattle,  Washington 
George  Franklin  Harding 
Charles  Sumner  Harmon 
Paul  Vincent  Harper 
William  Rainey  Harper 
Winfield  Scott  Harpole 
Edward  Avery  Harriman 
Karl  Edwin  Harriman 
Abram  Winegardner  Harris 
Samuel  Smith  Harris 
Pliny  Nelson  Haskell 

Idaho  Springs,  Colorado 
Azel  Farnsworth  Hatch 
Edward  Howard  Hatton 
Joseph  Haven 
Fred  Varmillia  Hawley 
Franklin  Harvey  Head 
George  Peter  Alexander 

Healey 
Frederick  Schiller  Hebard 

Mobile,  Alabama 
Charles  Downs  Helmer 
Charles  Mather  Henderson 
Robert  Jeremiah  Hendricks 


Date  of  Election 

January  9,  1888 
February  4,  1901 
March  2,  1883 

March  13,  1874 
April  4,  1892 
December  18,  1905 
March  31,  1874 
February  6,  1888 
November  i,  1886 
April  25,  1921 
May  23,  i88x 
March  6,  1922 
February  25,  191 8 

May  4,  1891 
February  4,  1924 
January  15,  1894 

January  29,  1877 
November  9,  1891 

January  3,  1876 
May  16,  1892 
December  18,  1916 
June  7,  1892 
May  6,  1907 
January  7,  1895 
November  3,  1919 
January  14,  1907 
January  6,  1875 
May  3,  1875 

October  28,  1878 
May  19,  1924 
March  31,  1874 
November  21,  1904 
November  29,  1884 

November  15,  1875 
October  25,  1897 

March  24,  1874 
October  31,  1881 
April  28,  1882 


Date  Membership 
Terminated 
Resigned,  October  21,  1889 
Resigned,  May  2,  1908 
Died,  June  i,  1910 

June  II,  1877 

Resigned,  September  10,  i8c 
Resigned,  June  10,  1914 
January  29,  1876 
Resigned,  February  i,  1897 
Resigned,  February  i,  1888 

Resigned,  January  23,  1902 


Died,  February  14, 1904 


Died,  December  13,  1923 

June  6,  1896 
February  i,  1914 

Died,  January  10,  1906 

Resigned,  September  21,  1900 

Resigned,  October  i,  1907 
Died,  August  21,  1888 
Died,  July  26,  1884 

Died,  November  28,  1906 

Died,  May  23,  1874 
Resigned,  October  i,  1912 
Died,  June  28,  1914 

Died,  June  24,  1894 
Died,  November  16, 1920 

Died,  April  28,  1879 
Resigned,  October  2,  1885 
Resigned,  January  6,  1897 


[    220    ] 


Roll  of  Members 


Members 

Brooke  Herford 

London,  England 
Rudolph  Hering 

Montclair,  Xew  Jersey 
James  Bryan  Herrick 
John  Jacob  Herrick 
Robert  Hervey 
Porter  Puffer  Heywood 
Homer  Nash  Hibbard 
James  Lambert  High 
Frederick  Henry  Hild 
Neweli,  Dwight  Hillis 
Henry  Horr  Hilton 
Joseph  Watson  Hiner 
Emil  Gustav  Hirsch 
Charles  Hitchcock 
Max  Hjortsberg 
Jesse  Holdom 
John  Francis  Holland 
Robert  Afton  Holland 

St.  Louis,  Missouri 
Charles  Sumner  Holt 
George  Hubbard  Holt 
McPherson  Holt 
Henry  Leonard  Hollis 
Charles  Butler  Holmes 
Henry  Hooper 
John  Lamar  Hopkins 
Henry  Horner 
Charles  Horowitz 
Oliver  Harvey  Horton 
Edward  Downer  Hosmer 
Clarence  Augustus  Hough 
James  Lawrence  Houghteling 
Henry  Wright  Howes 
George  Howland 
George  Carter  Howland 
Walter  Morton  Howland 

Amherst,  Massachusetts 
Thomas  Hoyne 
James  Jauncey  Hoyt 

Katonah,  New  York 
Joseph  Derwin  Hubbard 
William  Hammond  Hubbard 
Thomas  Hughes* 

Brighton,  England 


Date  of  Election 

April  22,  1876 


Date  Membership 
Terminated 
Died,  December  21,  1903 


December  6,  1886         Died,  May  30,  1923 


May  31,  1909 
February  21,  1876 
March  31,  1874 
February  28,  1881 
April  21,  1874 
April  21,  1874 
November  12,  1888 
February  i,  1897 
January  6,  1902 
April  3,  1899 
December  30,  1881 
November  26,  1877 
November  27,  1876 
March  11,  1907 
February  i,  1909 
January  27,  1882 

March  2,  1883 
June  9,  1888 
January  16, 1922 
April  3,  1899 
February  6,  1888 
February  26,  1877 
December  9,  191 8 
October  30,  1922 
May  10,  1920 
February  24,  1879 
February  26,  1877 
February  9,  1925 
November  28,  1881 
April  25,  1921 
April  21,  1874 
December  23,  1895 
November  29,  1884 

January  4,  1875 
February  15,  1875 

April  16,  1894 
June  9,  1890 
March  2,  1883 


[    221     ] 


Died,  January  29, 1916 
June  24,  1878 
Died,  April  28,  1896 
Resigned, October  i,  1897 
Died,  October  3,  1898 
Resigned,  February  i,  1902 
Resigned,  February  i,  1898 
Resigned,  August  8,  1904 
Resigned,  January  9,  1907 
Resigned,  March  28,  1913 
Died,  May  6,  1881 
Died,  May  16,  1880 
Resigned,  January  31,  1912 
Died,  March  5,  191 2 
Died,  December  30,  1909 

Died,  December  13,  191 8 
Died,  February  9,  1924 

Resigned,  January  11,  1907 
February  i,  19 14 
Resigned,  January  8,  1878 


Resigned,  February  i,  192^ 
Resigned,  April  26.  1902 
February  20,  1895 

Resigned,  February  i,  1898 
Resigned,  October  24,  1925 
Died,  October  22,  1892 
Resigned,  September  30,  1914 
Died,  October  22,  1911 

Resigned,  June  14,  1882 
Died,  May  29,  1924 

Resigned,  May  29,  1902 
Died,  June  i,  1908 
Died,  March  23,  1896 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Members 

Chari.es  Henry  Hulburd 
Morton  Denison  Hull 
James  Anthony  Hunt 
George  Leland  Hunter 
Henry  Alonzo  Huntington 

Paris,  France 
Charles  Lawrence 

Hutchinson 
Charles  Cheney  Hyde 
James  Nevins  Hyde 
James  Thomas  Hyde 
Harry  Sigmund  Hyman 
Edward  Swift  Isham 
Huntington  Wolcott  Jackson 
Jonathan  Worth  Jackson 
Henry  Downing  Jacobs 

Last  known  address: 

Springfield,  Massachusetts 
Augustus  Jacobson 
Edmund  Janes  James 

Covina,  California 
John  Alexander  Jameson 
James  Walker  Janney 
James  Clarke  Jeffery 
Frank  LeBaron  Jenney 
William  LeBaron  Jenney 
Theodore  Jessup 
James  Stewart  Jewell 
John  Nelson  Jewett 
David  Sumner  Johnson 

Springfield,  Illinois 
Frank  Seward  Johnson 

Los  Angeles,  California 
Herrick  Johnson 
Hosmer  Allen  Johnson 
James  Gibson  Johnson 

Farmington,  Connecticut 
Lorenzo  M  Johnson 
David  Benton  Jones 
Henry  Webster  Jones 
Llewellyn  Jones 
Samuel  Minot  Jones 
Thomas  Davies  Jones 
Walter  Clyde  Jones 
Edwin  Oakes  Jordan 
Harry  Pratt  Judson 


Date  of  Election 

March  7,  1892 
November  11,  1901 
December  6,  1875 
November  13,  1893 
November  16,  1874 


November  29,  1884 
May  7,  1900 
January  18,  1875 
June  I,  1874 
April  21,  1913 
November  16,  1874 
November  16,  1874 
January  14,  1907 
November  14,  1910 


November  26,  1877 
February  7,  1898 

March  17,  1874 
March  26,  1906 
January  12, 1914 
January  23,  191 1 
November  25,  1878 
January  8,  1900 
February  3,  1876 
February  21,  1876 
November  27,  1876 


Date  Membership 
Terminated 
Resigned,  September  26,  1912 
Resigned,  February  i,  1914 
Resigned,  April  22,  1897 
February  i,  1900 
Died,  July  29,  1907 


Died,  October  7,  1924 
Resigned,  May  i,  1906 
Died,  September  6,  19 10 
Resigned,  June  12,  1876 

Died,  February  17,  1902 
Died,  January  3,  1901 
Resigned,  September  18,  1913 


Resigned,  April  12,  1895 
Died,  June  17,  1925 

Resigned,  January  17,  1877 
Resigned,  January  31,  1908 
Died,  December  5,  1924 

Resigned,  October  27,  1896 

Resigned,  January  28,  1882 
Resigned,  February  23,  1893 
Died,  April  17,  1903 


November  29,  1884       Died,  April  23,  1922 


February  28,  1881 
March  31,  1874 
January  18,  1892 

March  2,  1883 
January  9,  1888 
January  3,  1876 
January  4,  191 5 
January  3,  1885 
January  26,  1880 
May  28,  1906 
December  18,  1905 
January  I4, 1907 

[     222    ] 


Resigned,  February  i,  189 
Died,  February  26, 1891 
Died,  March  23,  1905 

Died,  November  28, 1904 
Died,  August  22,  1923 
September  10,  1883 

Resigned,  June  14,  1897 


Resigned,  January  20,  1909 
Resigned,  February  i,  1923 


Roll  of  Members 


Members 

Alberi  Martin  Kales 
John  Davis  Kales 

EUWIN   ROULEITE   KeEDY 

Philadelphia^  Pennsylvania 
Chalncey  Keep 
William  Bristol  Keep 
Edson  Keith,  Jr. 
Elbridce  Gerry  Keith 
James  Peacock  Kelly 
Arthur  Isaac  Kendall 

St.  Louis,  Missouri 
Henry  Herbert  Kennedy 
William  Kent 

Kentfielii,  California 
Samuel  Humes  Kerfoot,  Jr. 
Henry  William  King 
Willard  Leroy  King 
William  Henry  King 
Joseph  Kirkland 
.Abraham  Samuel  Kissel 
John  Harris  Knowles 
Karl  Konrad  Kessler 
Kaufman  Kohler 
Howard  Kretschmar 
Sidney  Kuh 

Alvin  Wilford  LaForge 
John  Joseph  Lalor 
Edwin  Channing  Earned 
Sherwood  Johnston  Earned 
Walter  Cranston  Earned 
Bryan  Eathrop 
Urban  Augustine  Eavery 
Charles  Burrall  Lawrence 
William  Mangam  Lawrence 
Albert  Lazenby 
Joseph  Bloomfield  Leake 
Blewett  Lee 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

Edward  Tho.vias  Lee 
John  Thomas  Lee 
Henry  Eduard  Legler 
Harvey  Brace  Lemon 
John  V'alcoulon  LeMoyne 
Charles  Stanley  Lester 
tVashington,  D.  C. 


Date  of  Election 

January  6,  1902 
February  2,  1891 
March  10,  1913 

December  10,  1906 
January  11,  1886 
June  I,  1891 
November  27,  1876 
November  22,  1880 
November  7,  1921 

April  21,  1913 
March  5,  1900 

January  27,  1882 
June  9,  1882 
December  18,  1922 
April  21,  1874 
March  24,  1874 
December  21,  1874 
December  27,  1880 
April  26,  1915 
NIarch  31,  1874 
March  9,  1885 
'  February  15,  191 5 
May  26,  1919 
February  15,  1875 
March  31,  1874 
November  21,  1904 
November  15,  1875 
January  3,  1876 
December  15,  1919 
March  31,  1874 
November  16,  1885 
November  5,  1900 
October  5,  1874 
April  16,  1894 

and 
February  15,  1915 
January  4,  191 5 
November  3,  19 19 
January  17, 1910 
March  6,  1922 
March  31,  1874 
October  27,  1879 

[     223    ] 


Date  Membership 
Terminated 
November  15,  1907 
Resigned,  January  17,  1899 


June  6,  1896 
Resigned,  May  31,  1906 
Died,  May  17,  1905 
Died,  December  13,  1888 


Resigned,  February  i,  1924 


Resigned,  January  31,  1898 
Resigned,  October  26,  1894 

Resigned,  November  22,  i8i 
Died,  .April  29,  1894 
Resigned,  June  10,  1876 
Resigned,  January  26,  1882 
Resigned,  February  28,  1918 
Resigned,  June  2,  1876 
September  21,  1886 


June  I,  1882 

Died,  September  18,  1884 
Resigned,  September  25,  1911 
Died,  June  19,  1914 
Died,  May  13,  1916 

Died,  April  9,  1883 
Resigned,  October  i,  1887 
September  15,  1903 
Died,  June  i,  1913 
Resigned,  January  27,  1902 


Died,  September  13,  1917 

May  8,  1877 
Died,  in  191 2 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Members 

Edwin  Herbert  Lewis 
Leslie  Lewis 
Joseph  Liberman 
Walter  Lichtenstein 
Robert  Todd  Lincoln 

Washington,  D.  C. 
Charles  Augustus  Lippincott 

South  Bend,  Indiana 
Arthur  Little 

Dorchester,  Massachusetts 
Charles  Joseph  Little 
Henry  Demarest  Lloyd 
Edwin  Lyman  Lobdell 
Clinton  Locke 
Joseph  Ezekiel  Lockwood 
Max  Loeb 

Frank  Joseph  Loesch 
John  Avery  Lomax 

Austin,  Texas 
James  Henry  Long 
Daniel  Miner  Lord 
Herbert  Ivory  Lord 

Detroit,  Michigan 
Frederick  Homan  Loveridge 
Frank  Orren  Lowden 

Oregon,  Illinois 
Charles  Doak  Lowry 
Reuben  Ludlam 
David  Brainerd  Lyman 
Francis  Ogden  Lyman 
Henry  Munson  Lyman 
Frank  Worthington  Lynch 

San  Francisco,  California 
Samuel  Adams  Lynde 
Nathan  William  MacChesney 
William  Macdonell 
John  Williams  MacGeagh 
Julian  William  Mack 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
Franklin  MacVeagh 
Edgar  Madden 
Benjamin  Drake  Magruder 
George  Manierre 
Edward  Manley 
William  Henry  Manss 
Leroy  Delos  Mansfield 


Date  of  Election 

November  13,  191 1 
November  30,  1883 
March  25,  1876 
November  6,  19 16 
February  21,  1876 

January  10,  1898 

November  25,  1878 

December  i,  1891 
June  I,  1874 
November  18,  1912 
February  29,  1884 
May  4,  1874 
May  19,  1924 
February  i,  1909 
March  25,  1918 

January  22,  1894 
October  28,  1901 
May  15,  1905 

January  I4, 1907 
March  13,  1893 

September  23,  1904 
March  31,  1874 
November  30,  1883 
October  23,  1876 
February  29,  1884 
January  4,  1915 

January  11,  1886 
May  28,  1906 
February  15,  1875 
May  15,  191 1 
April  4,  1892 

March  31,  1874 
October  19,  1883 
April  22,  1876 
January  30,  1885 
October  22,  191 7 
December  12,  1921 
January  3,  1876 


Date  Meynbership 
Terminated 

Died,  October  3,  1922 
February  i,  1878 
Resigned,  October  20,  1924 


Died,  April  11,  1915 

Died,  March  11,  191 1 
Died,  September  28, 1903 

Died,  February  12,  1904 
Died,  November  20,  1878 


Resigned,  November  28,  1903 
Resigned,  May  18,  1908 


Resigned,  September  28,  1908 


June  14,  1882 
Died,  April  8,  1914 
Resigned,  January  30,  li 
Resigned,  August  25,  18! 


Resigned,  January  31,  190 

Died,  May  12,  1879 
Died,  November  12,  1913 


April  17,  1894 
Resigned,  May  29,  1890 
Resigned,  January  31,  1895 


June  19,  \\ 


[     224    ] 


Roll  of  Members 


Members 

George  Linn.«ls  Marsh 
Thomas  Brunton  Marston 
Franklin  Martin 
Horace  Hawes  Martin 
Alfred  Bishop  Mason 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
Arthur  John  Mason 
Edward  Gay  Mason 
Francis  Payne  Mason 
Henry  Burrall  Mason 
Roswell  Henry  Mason 
Edgar  Lee  Masters 
Robert  Elden  Mathews 

Columbus,  Ohio 
William  Mathews 

Boston,  Massachusetts 
Herman  Lewis  Matz 
Rldolph  Matz 
William  Andrew  McAndrew 
George  Martin  McBean 
Hlgh  Johnston  McBirney 
Ezra  Butler  McCagg 
James  Gove  King  McClure 
Alexander  Caldwell 

McClurg 
James  Lukens  McCoNAUGHYf 

Gales  burg,  Illinois 
Samuel  Parsons  McConnell 
Alfred  Edward  McCordic 
Alexander  Agnew  McCormick 
Cyrus  Hall  McCormick. 
Robert  Hall  McCormick,  Jr. 
James  Edward  McDade 
Parmalee  John  McFadden 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
William  Brown  McIlvaine 
Kenneth  McKenzieI 

Urbana,  Illinois 
William  Edward  McLaren 
Andrew  Cunningham 

McLaughlin 
BuELL  McKeever 
William  Gordon  McMillan 
Simon  John  McPherson 

Lawrenceville,  New  Jersey 
George  Herbert  Mead 


Date  of  Election 

December  17,  191 7 
February  12,  1894 
November  26,  1923 
February  26,  1894 
November  16,  1874 

January  23,  191 1 
March  13,  1874 
I'ebruary  4,  1901 
November  16,  1874 
February  15,  1875 
February  13,  191 1 
December  12,  1921 

March  24,  1874 

April  16,  1894 
March  2,  1891 
April  8,  1890 
March  19,  191 7 
December  23,  1895 
February  15,  1875 
October  22,  1886 

March  31,  1874 
January  16, 1922 

October  23, 1876 
February  7,  1898 
February  2,  1891 
December  30,  188 1 
October  23,  1916 
May  19,  1924 
April  6,  1896 

April  16,  1894 
January  16, 1922 

March  22,  1880 

May  24,  191 5 
March  21,  1904 
June  24,  1878 
March  2,  1883 

November  7,  1921 

[    225    ] 


Date  Membership 
Terminated 

Resigned,  I'\bruary  i,  1899 

Died,  October  19,  1925 


Died,  December  18,  1898 
Resigned,  February  i,  1908 
August  15,  1902 
January  25,  1898 
January  31, 191 6 


Died,  February  I4,  1909 

Died,  March  15,  1917 

Resigned,  October  12,  1924 
Resigned,  January  25,  1898 
February  i,  1897 
Resigned,  October  i,  1908 

Died,  April  15,  1901 
Resigned,  April  i,  1925 

June  6,  1896 

Resigned,  September  18,  1899 

Resigned,  October  16,  1903 

Resigned,  October  7,  191 9 

Died,  February  9,  191 1 

Resigned,  January  30,  1897 

Resigned,  January  28,  1881 


Resigned,  October  25,  1917 
August  31,  1885 
Died,  January  9,  1919 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Members 

John  Collier  Mechem 
George  Walker  Meeker 
Charles  Patrick  Megan 
Lewis  Pyle  Mercer 
Louis  Joseph  Mercier 
Henry  Payson  Merriman 

Santa  Barbara,  California 
LoRiNG  Wilbur  Messer 
Edwin  Lillie  Miller 

Detroit,  Michigan 
Henry  Giles  Miller 
James  Alexander  Miller 
John  Stocker  Miller 
John  Stocker  Miller,  Jr. 
George  Crichton  Miln 
Thomas  George  Milsted 
Charles  Wellington  Minard 
Clifford  Mitchell 
Louis  Celestin  Monin 
Frank  Hugh  Montgomery 
William  Adam  Montgomery 
Beveridge  Harshaw  Moore 
Samuel  McClelland  Moore 
Victor  Morawetz 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
David  Percy  Morgan 
Henry  Crittenden  Morris 
James  William  Morrisson 
Charles  James  Morse 
Jared  Kirtland  Morse 
Lemuel  Moss 

Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania 
Harold  Nicholas  Moyer 
Harrison  Musgrave 
Charles  Alexander  Nelson 

Mount  Vernon,  New  York 
Murry  Nelson 
Murry  Nelson,  Jr. 
Clarence  Adolph  Neymann 
George  Perry  Nichols 
William  Wilson  Kirchofer 

Nixon 
Charles  Dyer  Norton 
James  Sager  Norton 
George  Clement  Noyes 
John  Thomas  Noyes 


Date  of  Election 

February  28,  1921 
February  29,  1884 
January  17,  1921 
February  28,  1881 
December  21,  1908 
January  22,  1894 

January  22,  1894 
November  27,  1899 

February  29,  1884 
June  4,  1894 
February  25,  1895 
January  22,  1917 
October  31,  1881 
November  i,  1886 
December  7,  1903 
May  10,  1920 
November  26,  1900 
January  29, 1900 
May  25,  1885 
November  6,  1916 
March  15,  1875 
November  24,  1879 

November  11,  1889 
November  21,  1904 
February  17,  1902 
November  4,  1895 
December  12,  1921 
November  2,  1874 

January  17,  1910 
April  18,  1898 
November  9,  1891 

October  18,  1875 
October  18,  1893 
May  26,  1919 
February  9,  1925 

March  18,  1889 
April  8,  1 901 
April  22,  1876 
March  2,  1883 
March  24,  1879 

[     226    ] 


Date  Membership 
Terminated 

Resigned,  September  17,  18S 

June  14,  1882 

Resigned,  February  i,  1910 

Died,  October  18,  1911 

Resigned,  October  22,  1917 


October  29,  1896 
February  28,  1911 
Died,  February  16,  1922 

June  II,  1883 

Resigned,  December  9,  1889 

Resigned,  September  29,  1909 

Resigned,  October  i,  1921 

Resigned,  June  3,  1908 

Died,  July  14,  1908 

Died,  August  21,  1895 

June  2,  1884 


Resigned,  April  25,  1891 
Resigned,  January  29,  1916 
Resigned,  October  17,  1917 
Resigned,  May  7,  1900 

Died,  July  12,  1904 

Died,  December  14,  1923 
Resigned,  December  26,  189 


Resigned,  January  31,  1902 
Resigned,  August  17,  1903 


Resigned,  September  29,  1900 
Resigned,  April  12,  1902 
Died,  September  17,  1896 
Died,  January  14,  1889 
Resigned,  January  31,  1895 


Roll  of  Members 


Members 

LaVerne  Noyes 
Horace  Sweeny  Oakley 
John  O'Connor 
Holmes  Onderdonk 
William  Sigmind  Oppenheim 
Hugh  Robert  Orr 
Hartwell  Osborn 
Louis  Shreve  Osborne 

Newark,  Xew  'Jersey 
Roy  Clifton  Osgood 
Ephraim  Allen  Otis 
John  Nash  Ott 
Jesse  Myron  Owen 
George  Packard 
Charles  Evart  Paddock 
George  Laban  Paddock 


Benjamin  Eldridge  Page 

Herman  Page 

Alonzo  Winslow  Paige 

Schenectady,  Xew  York 
Alonzo  Ketcham  Parker 
Francis  Warner  Parker 
Francis  Wayland  Parker 
Robert  Henry  Parkinson 
Newton  Augustus  Partridge 
John  Clorey  Patterson 
Perry  Smith  Patterson 
Robert  Wilson  Patterson,  Jr 
Hugh  Talbot  Patrick 
John  Barton  Payne 
William  Morton  Payne 
Augustus  Stephen  Peabody 
Francis  Bolles  Peabody 
Selim  Hobart  Peabody 
Charles  William  Pearson 
James  Carr  Peasley 
Bronson  Peck,  Jr. 
George  Record  Peck 
Emerson  William  Peet 
James  Harvey  Peirce 
Abram  Morris  Pence 
DwIght  Heald  Perkins 
Herbert  Farrington 

Perkins 


Date  of  Election 

December  17,  191 7 
February  12,  1894 
November  13,  191 2 
January  16, 1921 
April  16,  1894 
January  17, 1921 
February  19,  1906 
November  29,  1884 

April  26,  191 5 
April  22',  1878 
March  8,  191 5 
December  22,  1924 
November  26,  1894 
January  4, 191 5 
December  20,  1875 

and 
*May  31,  1909 
May  24,  1920 
December  4,  1905 
March  22,  1880 

January  8,  1900 
May  16,  191 2 
May  26,  1884 
May  24,  1897 
March  28,  1898 
October  5,  1874 
December  17,  1923 
April  19,  1875 
March  28,  1898 
January  15,  1894 
February  i,  1897 
October  27,  1908 
December  29,  1882 
May  28,  1877 
November  7,  1887 
November  7,  1887 
January  3,  1876 
April  6,  1896 
November  27,  1876 
May  4,  1883 
November  16,  1874 
October  28,  1901 

December  18,  1893 

[   ^^7  ] 


Date  Membership 
Terminated 
Died,  July  24,  1919 
Resigned,  July  16,  1903 
Resigned,  April  20,  191 5 

Resigned,  January  16,  1905 

Died,  November  13,  1914 
Died,  January  27,  1912 


Resigned,  January  28,  1904 
Resigned,  February  i,  1924 


Resigned,  February  i,  1921 

Died,  September  1 1,  1910 
Resigned,  January  23,  1909 


Resigned,  February  23,  1904 
Died,  October  9,  1922 
September  21,  1886 
Resigned,  September  29,  1909 
Resigned,  February  i,  1921 
February  6,  1877 
Resigned, October  i,  1925 
Resigned,  August  7,  1888 
Resigned,  May  22,  1899 
Resigned,  September  23,  1897 
Died,  July  11,  1919 
Resigned,  May  i,  191 1 
Resigned,  November  28,  1894 
Resigned,  November  22,  1898 
Resigned,  February  i,  1889 
Resigned,  NLny  24,  1 890 
Died,  September  I4,  1895 
Resigned,  January  15,  1903 
Died,  April  17,  1902 
Resigned,  January  15,  1913 
Died,  September  5,  1905 
Resigned,  October  i,  1906 

Resigned,  February  1,  1904 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Members 

Norman  Carolan  Perkins 

Detroit,  Michigan 
Raymond  St.  James  Perrin 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
William  Ferdinand  Petersen 
William  Jacob  Petrie 

San  Antonio,  Texas 

HoLMAN  Dean  Pettibone 
George  Benjamin  Phelps,  Jr. 
Myron  Henry  Phelps 

Last  known  address: 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
George  Levis  Phillips 
Josiah  Little  Pickard 

Cupertino,  Calijornia 
Charles  Churchill  Pickett 
Clement  Knowles  Pittman 

Los  Angeles,  Calijornia 
Allen  Bartlit  Pond 
Irving  Kane  Pond 
Charles  Clarence  Poole 
William  Frederick  Poole 
Robert  Percevil  Porter 

Oxford,  England 
Louis  Freeland  Post 

Washington,  D.  C. 
Edward  Clement  Potter 
RoscoE  Pound 

Cambridge,  Massachusetts 
Henry  Alfred  Poveleite 

Cincinnati,  Ohio 
Horatio  Nelson  Powers 

Bridgeport,  Connecticut 
Robert  Bruce  Preble 
Sartell  Prentice 
Keith  Preston 

Theodore  Philander  Prudden 
Eugene  Ernst  Prussing 
Ernst  Wilfrid  Puttkammer 
James  Edward  Quan 
Edward  Chittenden  Ray 
William  Henry  Ray 
Henry  Warren  Raymond 

Germantown,  Pennsylvania 
Charles  Francis  Read 


Date  of  Election 
March  31,  1874 

May  26,  1884 

October  30,  1922 
June  I,  1874 

and 
November  12,  188 
May  21,  1923 
March  2,  1891 
December  6,  1886 


December  3,  1888 
March  31,  1874 

June  9,  1890 
November  22,  1909 

November  12,  1888 
November  12,  1888 
December  18,  1893 
March  31,  1874 
January  26,  1880 

October  28,  1901 

January  8,  1900 
March  14,  1910 

April  3,  191 1 

March  13,  1874 

February  7,  1921 
April  28,  1882 
February  26,  1923 
November  7,  1887 
November  4,  1899 
March  12,  1923 
December  10,  1906 
February  21,  1887 
March  9,  1885 
January  29,  1877 

March  3,  1924 


Date  Membership 
Terminated 
Died,  March  20,  1895 

Died,  August  30,  1915 


Resigned,  December  20,  1887 
Died,  February  i,  1913 
Resigned,  September  29,  1896 


Died,  January  29,  1889 
Died,  March  27,  1914 

June  I,  1909 
Died,  April  17,  1921 

Resigned,  May  28,  1909 

Resigned,  September  27,  1907 
Died,  March  i,  1894 
Died,  February  28,  1917 


Resigned,  May  11,  1903 


Died,  September  6,  1890 


Died,  September  2,  1901; 
Resigned,  February  i,  1924 
Died,  November  9,  1915 
Resigned,  January  26,  1916 

Resigned,  September  2,  1908 
Resigned,  January  31,  1893 
Died,  July  30,  1889 
Died,  February  18,  1925 

Resigned,  January  12,  1925 


[     228    ] 


Roll  of  Members 


Members 

Edward  Rector 
Charles  Bert  Reed 
Clark.  Scammon  Reed 
Dudley  Billings  Reed 
Earl  Howell  Reed,  Jr. 
Frank  Freemont  Reed 
Curtis  Williford  Reese 
Alexander  Frederick. 

Reichmann 
William  Morton  Reynolds 
Charles  Spencer 

RiCHARDSOX 

New  Haven,  Connecticut 
William  Lee  Richardson 
John  Ridlon 
Samuel  Mayo  Rinaker 
Jacob  Ringer 
George  Evan  Roberts 

Ossining,  Xexv  York 
William  Charles  Roberts 
John  Roy  Robertson 
Harry  Franklin  Robinson 
Carl  Bismarck  Roden 
George  Mills  Rogers 
John  Gorin  Rogers 
Joseph  Martin  Rogers 

Traverse  City,  Michigan 
Frederick  Woodman  Root 
John  Wellborn  Root 
John  Wellborn  Root,  Jr. 
Julius  Rosenthal 
Lessing  Rosenthal 
Cyrus  Dustin  Roys 
John  Sumner  Runnels 
James  Bover  Runnion 

Kansas  City,  Missouri 
William  Henry  Ryder 
Edward  Earned  Ryerson 
Edwin  Warner  Ryerson 
Martin  Antoine  Ryerson 
William  Godfrey  Sage 
William  McIntire  Salter 

Silver  Lake,  New  Hampshire 
Osborne  Sampson 

Andrew,  Iowa 
Victor  Channing  Sanborn 


Date  of  Election 

December  18,  1905 
December  10,  1906 
April  21,  1919 
May  10,  1920 
April  5,  191 5 
November  27,  1916 
November  26,  1923 

January  20, 1913 
April  21  1874 

January  14, 1907 

December  6,  1920 
February  i,  1897 
December  12,  1921 
May  26,  191 9 
April  18,  1910 

April  25,  1887 
March  31,  1874 
May  19,  1924 
December  17,  1917 
December  27,  1880 
May  4,  1874 
November  30,  1883 

October  31,  1884 
February  3,  1876 
March  8,  1915 
March  31,  1874 
January  10, 1898 
January  7, 1890 
February  2,  1891 
April  21,  1874 

April  19,  1875 
November  11,  1907 
November  7,  1921 
March  2,  1891 
December  13,  1909 
March  9,  1885 

November  30,  1883 

December  21,  1963 

[    229    ] 


Date  Membership 
Terminated 
Resigned,  July  28,  1910 


Resigned,  October  i,  1921 
Resigned,  September  30,  1917 
Resigned,  October  l,  1917 


March  6,  1876 

Resigned,  December  31,  i! 
Died,  September  9,  1922 


Resigned,  February  i,  1892 
October  i,  1875 


Resigned,  September  20,  1888 
Resigned,  September  30,  1886 
Died,  September  28,  1923 

Died,  November  8,  1916 
Died,  January  15,  1891 
May  29,  1916 
Died,  May  14,  1905 

Resigned,  May  14,  1896 
Resigned,  January  31,  191 5 
Died,  May  6,  1897 

Resigned,  June  10,  1878 
Resigned,  January  31,  1911 


Died,  December,  1920 
Died,  January  13,  1921 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Members 

Edward  Henry  Sanford 
MiNOT  JuDsoN  Savage 

Cleveland,  Ohio 
Henry  James  Sawe 
Carlos  Pomeroy  Sawyer 
Joseph  Schaffner 
Joseph  Halle  Schaffner 
Elmer  Schlesinger 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
Otto  Leopold  Schmidt 
Francis  Phillip  Schmitt 
George  Schneider 
John  James  Schobinger 
Charles  Sumner  Schoenmann 
John  McAllister  Schofield 
Arthur  Pearson  Scott 
Frank  Hamline  Scott 
Harry  Fletcher  Scott 

Athens,  Ohio 
Moses  Lewis  Scudder 

Huntington,  L.  I.,  New  York 
Lewis  Martin  Sears 

West  Lafayette,  Indiana 
Louis  Augustus  Seeberger 
Frank  Harrold  Sellers 
James  Washington  Sheahan 
Edwin  Holmes  Sheldon 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
Theodore  Sheldon 
Robert  Dickinson 

Sheppard 
Philip  Henry  Sheridan* 

Nonquit,  Massachusetts 
Daniel  Lewis  Shorey 
Paul  Shorey 
John  George  Shortall 
John  Louis  Shortall 
Philip  Raymond  Shumway 
William  Pratt  Sidley 
George  Cushing  Sikes 
Joseph  Lyman  Silsbee 
Howard  Lyle  Simmons 
James  Persons  Simonds 
William  Edward  Simonds f 

Galesburg,  Illinois 
Ernest  Sylvester  Simpson 


T)ate  of  Election 

May  29,  191 1 
March  17,  1874 

February  2,  1903 
February  15,  1904 
March  14,  1910 
November  5,  1923 
January  17,  1910 

November  12,  1909 
May  24,  1886 
December  20,  1875 
December  6,  1875 
April  14,  1902 
February  29,  1884 
February  28,  1921 
May  4,  1 891 
January  17,  1921 

May  4,  1874 

May  15,  1916 

December  10,  1906 
January  23,  1899 
March  31,  1874 
March  25,  1878 

May  25,  1885 

February  28,  1881 
March  2,  1883 

March  31,  1874 
October  31,  1884 
November  15,  1875 
February  26,  1894 
March  5,  1900 
December  23,  1895 
January  6,  1902 
February  29,  1884 
March  6,  1922 
March  12,  1923 
January  16, 1922 

February  26,  1923 
[     ^30    ] 


Date  Membership 
Tertninated 
Resigned,  May  5,  1917 
Died,  May  29,  I918 

Died,  April  2,  1904 

Died,  April  19,  1918 


Resigned,  January  28,  1890 
Died,  September  16,  1905 
Resigned,  October  i,  1904 
Resigned,  January  20,  1908 
Resigned,  February  i,  1885 


Died,  October  29,  1917 


Resigned,  January  30,  1909 
Resigned,  February  i,  1901 
January  29,  1876 
Died,  December  18,  1890 

Resigned,  January  6,  1889 

May  22,  1907 
Died,  August  5,  1888 

Died,  March  4,  1899 

Died,  July  23,  1908 
Resigned,  March  10,  1919 
Resigned,  January  31,  1903 
Resigned,  January  29,  1909 
Resigned,  August  31,  1903 
Resigned,  September  30,  185 


Roll  of  Members 


Members 

Mark  Skinner 
Orrin  Sktnner 
Arthur  Wakefield  Si.aten 
Edward  Alonzo  Small 
Archibald  Whittier  Smalley 
Charles  Oilman  Smith 
Dun  LAP  Smith 
Edwin  BuRRirr  Smith 
Frederick  Augustus  Smith 
Frederick  Belcher  Smith 
George  Baldwin  Smith* 

Madison,  IVisconsin 
George  Washington  Smith 
Henry  Justin  Smith 
Howard  Leslie  Smith 

Madison,  Wisconsin 
Humphrey  Russell  Smith 
Perry  Hiram  Smith 
Pliny  Bent  Smith 
William  Henry  Smith 
Isaac  Alonzo  Smothers 
Denton  Jaques  Snider 

St.  Louis,  Missouri 
Franklyn  Bliss  Snyder 
Keith  Spalding 
Albert  Arnold  Sprague 
Otho  Sylvester  Arnold 

Sprague 

Pasadena,  California 
Samuel  Cecil  Stanton 
Horace  Mann  Starkey 

Rockford,  Illinois 
Merritt  Starr 
Lewis  Abyram  Stebbins 
Frederick  Morgan  Steele 
Henry  Thornton  Steele 
Otto  Albert  Steller 
Edward  Swan  Stickney 
John  Carolus  Stirling 
William  Robert  Stirling 
Joseph  Stolz 
George  Frederick  Stone 
Henry  Baldwin  Stone 
James  Samuel  Stone 
Henry  Strong 
William  Emerson  Strong 


Date  of  Election 

December  21,  1874 
October  18, 1875 
May  21,  1923 
October  18,  1875 
March  2,  1925 
March  31,  1874 
February  25,  1895 
March  18,  1889 
February  4,  1901 
NLirch  31,  1874 
January  18,  1875 

October  18,  1875 
May  19,  1924 
December  19,  1898 

December  9,  1907 
June  9,  1888 
April  25,  1887 
February  26,  1894 
December  17,  1923 
December  3,  1888 

December  18,  1916 
December  18,  1905 
May  26,  1879 


Date  Membership 
Terminated 
Died,  September  16,  1887 
June  9,  1879 

Resigned,  February  i,  1924 
Died,  January  13,  1882 

Died,  January  10,  1894 
Resigned,  September  29,  i8(; 
Died,  May  9,  1906 
Died,  January  31,  1919 
Resigned,  October  19,  1917 
Died,  September  18,  1879 

Died,  September  1 6,  1 898 


Resigned,  July  8,  1910 
Resigned,  January  5,  1897 
Died,  April  24,  1912 
Died,  July  27,  1896 


Resigned,  October  i,  1925 
Resigned,  January  31,  1910 
Died,  January  10,  1915 


November  22,  1880       Died,  February  20,  1909 


May  26,  1919 
December  19,  1898 

April  16,  1894 
October  22,  1917 
October  25,  1897 
April  21,  1874 
^LTy  8,  1922 
December  6,  1875 
May  26,  1884 
November  23,  1882 
December  15,  1902 
February  26,  1894 
November  30,  1883 
February  25,  1895 
April  23,  1877 
November  26,  1877 

[     231     ] 


Died,  June  22,  1923 


Resigned,  January  27,  1903 
Died,  November  10,  1890 

Died,  March  20,  1880 
Resigned,  January  31,  1895 
Resigned,  September  30,  1914 

Resigned,  February  31,  1902 
Died,  July  5,  1897 
Resigned,  September  29,  1900 
Died,  October  21,  191 1 
Died,  April  10,  1891 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Members 

Melancthon  Woolsey 

Stryker 
Charles  Inches  Sturgis 
Louis  Henry  Sullivan 
George  Warner  Swain 
Harold  Higgins  Swift 
David  Swing 
LoRADO  Taft 
William  Charles  Tanner 
Last  known  address: 
Riverside,  California 
Charles  Henry  Taylor 


Fitzhugh  Taylor 
Graham  Taylor 
Thomas  Taylor,  Jr. 
Horace  Kent  Tenney 
Alfred  Howe  Terry 
Schuyler  Baldwin  Terry 
John  Marshall  Thacher 
Alfred  Addison  Thomas 
Frank  Wright  Thomas 
Hiram  Washington  Thomas 
James  Westfall  Thompson 
John  Leverett  Thompson 
Leverett  Thompson 
Slason  Thompson 
William  McIi.wain  Thompson 
Arthur  James  Todd 
Albert  Harris  Tolman 
Henry  Leland  Tolman 
Floyd  Williams  TomkinSj,  Jr. 

Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania 
Arnold  Tompkins 
Melvin  Alvah  Traylor 
Lambert  Tree 
Charles  Henderson  True 
Lyman  Trumbull 
Murray  Floyd  Tuley 
Frederick  Ullmann 
Frederic  Ullmann,  Jr. 
Arthur  Waring  Underwood 
Thomas  Ingle  Underwood. 
George  Putnam  Upton 
George  Burwell  Utley 


Date  of  Election 

May  25,  1885 
June  7,  1892 
January  11,  1886 
May  15,  1922 
November  3,  191 9 
March  24,  1874 
March  18,  1899 
February  6,  1905 


December  21,  1883 

and 
April  8,  1901 
November  6,  1905 
February  12,  1894 
January  15,  1894 
October  28,  1901 
November  i,  1886 
February  28,  1921 
April  28,  1882 
February  26,  1894 
March  6,  1922 
October  5,  1874 
February  20,  1899 
June  7,  1875 
February  26,  1894 
December  27,  1880 
February  i,  1909 
January  16,  1922 
February  i,  1909 
November  25,  1878 
December  21,  1891 

November  24,  1902 
April  21,  1919 
March  31,  1874 
February  \1,  1923 
March  31,  1874 
January  26,  1880 
February  25,  1895 
January  28,  1918 
March  16,  I923 
April  6,  1925 
March  31,  1874 
April  6,  1925 


Date  Membership 
Terminated 

Resigned,  October  2,  1885 
Resigned,  October  i,  1894 
Resigned,  October  i,  1901 


Died,  October  3,  1894 
Resigned,  September  29,  1900 


Resigned,  October  16,  1894 

Resigned,  July  19,  1915 
Resigned,  January  31,  1915 
Resigned,  September  24,  1896 
Resigned,  February  i,  1904 
Resigned,  June  26,  1906 
Resigned,  April  21,  1887 

Resigned,  September  30,  1895 
Resigned,  May  16,  1900 

Resigned,  February  12,  1878 

Died,  January  31,  1888 
Resigned,  September  7,  1905 


Resigned,  January  21,  1882 

Died,  August  14,  1905 

June  19,  1878 

June  II,  1886 

June  20,  1897 

Died,  March  29,  191 1 

Resigned,  October  i,  1925 

Resigned,  May  9,  1905 

October  i,  1875 


[     232    ] 


Roll  of  Members 


Members 

David  Newton  Utter 
Joseph  Loring  V'alentine 
John  Frederick  Voigt 
Leonard  Wblls  Volk 
Henry  Heii.eman  Wait 
Horatio  Loomis  Wait 
James  Joseph  Wait 
Aldace  Freeman  Walker 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
George  Richard  Walker 
James  Monroe  Walker 
Wirt  Dexter  Walker 
Seymour  Walton 
Frank  Gibson  Ward 
Henry  Arthir  Ware 
Arba  Nelson  Waterman 
Edward  Stanley  Waters 

Salem,  Massachusetts 
William  Otis  Waters 
Charles  Ripley  Webster 
George  Washington  Webster 
John  Clarence  Webster 
Joseph  Dana  Webster 
David  Spencer  Wegg 
George  Philip  Welles 
Arthur  Brattle  Wells 
Charles  William  Wendt£ 

Berkeley,  California 
Arthur  Dana  Wheeler 
David  Hinton  Wheeler 
Samuel  Hickox  Wheeler 
Charles  Crawford  Whinery 
Horace  White 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
Russell  Whitman 
Herbert  Clarkson  Whitehead 
George  Francis  Whitsett 

Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania 
Peter  Bonnett  Wight 
John  Henry  Wigmore 
John  Daniel  Wild 
Payson  Sibley  Wild 
Robert  Hall  Wiles 
Dudley  Phelps  Wilkinson 
John  Wilkinson 
James  Rowland  Willett 


Date  of  Election 

November  30,  1883 
January  7,  1921 
November  14,  1910 
March  31,  1874 
December  23,  1895 
January  29, 1877 
January  7,  1890 
November  11,  1889 

November  4,  1899 
January  29,  1877 
April  16,  1888 
February  6,  1888 
May  I,  1916 
March  28,  1898 
March  2,  1883 
June  I,  1874 

September  23,  1904 
January  29,  1900 
March  5,  1900 
December  10,  1906 
February  i,  1875 
April  4,  1892 
November  28,  1881 
January  7,  1890 
December  21,  1874 

March  7,  1887 
March  31,  1874 
February  26,  1877 
December  6,  1920 
March  24,  1874 

April  8,  1890 
May  4,  1925 
May  19,  1924 

June  7,  1875 
October  25,  1897 
November  14,  1910 
December  15,  1902 
NLay  18,  1903 
November  27,  1876 
March  17,  1874 
June  9,  1888 

[     '^33     ] 


Date  Membership 
Terminated 
June  5,  1891 

Resigned,  February  i,  1922 
June  19,  1878 
Resigned,  April  29,  1907 
Died,  July  15,  1916 
Died,  January  11,  1925 
Died,  April  12,  1901 

Resigned, October  i,  1901 
Died,  January  22,  1881 
Died,  April  24,  1899 
April  17.  1894 

Resigned,  September  14,  1900 
Died,  March  16,  1917 
Died,  April  7,  1916 

Resigned,  September  24,  1909 
Resigned,  January  31,  1902 
Resigned,  September  30,  1914 
Resigned,  October  i,  1916 
Died,  March  12,  1876 
Resigned,  November  16,  1916 
Died,  January  21,  1912 
Resigned,  August  9,  1909 


Died,  August  29,  1912 
October  i,  1875 
Resigned,  March  26, 1 883 

Died,  September  16,  1916 

Resigned,  September  29,  1894 


Resigned,  October  i,  1896 
Resigned,  August  29,  1898 


Died,  March  30,  1907 
Resigned,  January  31,  1898 
Died,  September  9,  1904 
Resigned,  January  30,  1893 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Members 
Edward  Franklin  Williams 


Henry  Percy  Williams 
Norman  Williams 
Robert  Williams 
Stalham  Leon  Williams,  Jr. 
Charles  Henry  Wilmerding 
Benjamin  Mairs  Wilson 
John  P  Wilson 
Arthur  Wellesley  Windett 
DeWitt  Cosgrove  Wing 
William  Herman  Winslow 
Frederick  Seymour  Winston 
Albrecht  Wirth 
Thomas  Foster  Withrow 
Albert  Henry  Wolf 
Henry  Milton  Wolf 
Benjamin  Wolhaupter 
Walter  Mabie  Wood 

Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania 
RoLLiN  Turner  Woodyatt 
John  Hopkins  Worcester,  Jr. 
Samuel  Henry  Wright 
Victor  S.  Yarros 
Charles  Yeomans 
Abram  VanF.ps  Young 
Kimball  Young 
John  Maxcy  Zane 
Joseph  Zeisler 
Sigmund  Zeisler 
William  Carbys  Zimmerman 


Date  of  Election 

November  27,  1876 

and 
*April  24,  1916 
November  i,  19 15 
October  18,  1875 
November  28,  1881 
November  4,  1899 
February  3,  1890 
November  27,  1876 
December  23,  1878 
March  31,  1874 
March  24,  1913 
February  7,  1898 
June  21,  1880 
January  7,  1895 
January  29,  1877 
January  12,  1914 
May  28,  1906 
December  23,  1895 
October  28,  1901 

November  22,  1915 
November  11,  1889 
November  4,  1895 
December  7,  1903 
November  3,  1919 
March  18,  1889 
February  13,  1893 
December  4,  1905 
January  7,  1895 
March  13,  1893 
October  19,  1903 


Date  Membership 
Terminated 

Died,  May  26,  1919 


Died,  June  19,  1899 
Resigned,  September  i,  1884 
Resigned,  September  18,  1907 
Resigned,  September  30,  1895 
September  17,  1892 
Died,  October  3,  1922 
Resigned,  April  26,  1886 

Resigned,  February  i,  1905 
Resigned,  June  12,  1893 
Resigned,  May  24,  1914 
Died,  February  3,  1893 
Died,  March  13,  1921 

Resigned,  September  30,  1899 


Died,  February  6,  1893 
Died,  July  16,  1900 


Resigned,  February  i,  1907 
Resigned,  January  13,  1908 
Resigned,  December  29,  1913 
Resigned,  October  x,  1917 

Resigned,  January  31,  1908 


[     234    ] 


Appendix  D 

PAPERS   READ 
BEFORE  THE   CLUB 


THE  lists  include  both  written  papers  and  ad- 
dresses. Where  "Conversation"  or  "Symposium" 
appears  in  parenthesis  following  a  title  it  indicates 
that  a  Conversation  or  a  Symposium,  as  the  case  may  be, 
was  led  by  the  member  whose  name  heads  the  list. 


William  Kelly  Ackerman 

Early  Attempts  at  Railroad  Building  in  Illinois 
Notes  on  Railway  Management  in  the  United  States 
Some  Things  about  Railway  Managers 
Lights  and  Shadows  of  a  Railroad  King 

Charles  Adams 

The  Evolution  of  the  Military  Rifle  (Illustrated) 

Cuernavaca  (Illustrated) 

Dialect  Readings 

A  Trip  in  Java  (Illustrated) 

George  Everett  Adams 

Ideals  in  Education  (Conversation) 

The  Rules  of  the  House  (Conversation) 

Washington's  Idea  of  "Uncle  Sam" 

The  Sixteenth  Century  Englishman  and  the  Twentieth 

Century  American 
Color  in  Certain  Poets 
On  Certain  Changes  in  Language 
Tros  Tyriusque 


December  4,  i88a 
November  10,  1884 
November  i,  1886 
January  7,  1889 


April  10,  1905 
April  20,  1908 
March  27,  191 1 
March  17,  1919 


June  6,  1881 
October  21,  1889 
November  18,  1895 

January  30,  1 899 
January  16, 1905 
February  3,  1908 
November  3,  1913 


[    235    ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


John  Coleman  Adams 

The  Reaction  from  Realism 

The  Historic  Place  of  Abraham  Lincoln 

Certain  Intellectual  Relations  of  Art 

Sidney  Adler 

Looking  at  Caesar 

Victor  Clifton  Alderson 

Technical  Education;  an  Economic  Necessity 

Owen  Franklin  Alois 

Louis  Napoleon 
A  Letter  to  Jefferson  Davis 
State  Rights  —  North  and  South 
A  Day  in  Maya  Land 

Rudolph  Altrocchi 

Gabriele  D'Annunzio:   Poet  of  Beauty  and  Decadence 
Roberto  Bracco,  and  the  Drama  of  the  Subconscious 

John  Ward  Amberg 

A  Potpourri  of  Travel 

A  Glimpse  at  Our  Northern  Iron  Ranges 

Edward  Scribner  Ames 
Schopenhauer 

The  Psychology  of  Religion 
Modern  Tendencies  in  Religion 
The  Books  of  the  Year  (Symposium) 
Behaviorism 

Clement  Walker  Andrews 

Some  Details  of  Library  Administration 

The  Means  of  Making  Printed  Matter  Available 

Books  as  Merchandise 

Recent  Progress  in  Chemistry 

A  Footnote  to  History  in  3-Point 

An  Uncritical  Sketch  of  an  Adventurous  Life  —  that  of 

Commodore  Joshua  Barney,  U.S.N. 
Inaugural  Address  as  President 
The  Economics  of  Library  Architecture 
An  Adventurous  Life 

Edmund  Andrews 

The  Mound  Builders  (Conversation) 
The  Ancient  American  Elephants 
Incidents  of  Travel 


November  7,  il 
April  22,  1889 
June  10,  1889 


January  27,  1919 
October  20,  1902 


June  17,  1878 
June  5,  1882 
June  4,  1883 
May  30,  1892 


November  6,  1922 
February  25,  1924 


December  i,  1901 
April  22,  1912 


October  25,  1915 
January  15,  1918 
January  26,  1920 
May  I,  1922 
February  18,  1924 


December  20,  1897 
May  14,  1900 
February  6,  1905 
December  4,  1905 
April  3,  191 1 

April  12,  1915 
October  8,  191 7 
April  19,  1920 
March  17,  1924 

March  10,  1879 
November  15,  1886 
October  19, 1896 


[  236  ] 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


Edward  Wyllys  Andrews 

The  Sword  of  Fire 

Galusha  Axderson 

The  Data  of  Ethics  (Conversation) 

Chrysostom  the  Preacher 

Passages  from  Rev.  Timothy  Titmouth's  "Story  of  a 

Country  Neighborhood" 
How  Missouri  was  Kept  in  the  Union 
Reminiscences  of  a  Border  City  in  the  Civil  War 

Norman  Kellogg  Anderson 
The  Ice  Age  in  Wisconsin 

Samuel  Appleton 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 
Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

Francis  Marion  Arnold 

The  Relation  of  Music  to  Literature 

Musical  Selections 

New  Freedom  in  the  Construction  of  Music 

Some  Modern  Nature  Music  (with  Piano  Illustrations) 

Isaac  Newton  Arnold 

James  Fenimore  Cooper 

Personal  Reminiscences  ot  Scotland  and  Anecdotes  of 

Scott 
Reminiscences  of  Congress  during  the  Rebellion 

Edward  Go  wan  As  ay 
The  Bibliopole 

Benjamin  Franklin  Ayer 

Lake  Front  Questions 

Henry  Homes  Babcock 

Plant  Culture 

What  Should  Be  the  Limits  of  Free  Education  Fur 
nished  by  the  State?  (Conversation) 

Wilson  Marvin  Backus 
The  Italy  of  Today 

Paul  Valentine  Bacon 

Leonardo  da  Vinci,  the  Great  Dilettante 

[   ^37  ] 


November  4,  1889 


February  9,  1880 
October  23,  1893 

May  13,  1895 
May  15,  1899 
April  7,  1902 


February  19,  1906 


October  15, 1877 
December  20,  1880 


November  25,  191 8 
October  27,  1919 
November  24,  1919 
February  21,  1921 


December  20,  1875 

June  2,  1879 
March  21,  188 1 


May  7,  1877 

May  28,  1888 

April  29,  1876 
October  I4, 1878 

October  13, 1902 

January  30,  191 1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Edward  Payson  Bailey 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  November  28, 1904 

Edgar  Addison  Bancroft 

The  Religion  of  Shelley  May  21,  i  S94 

Our  New  Foreign  Policy  February  i,  1904 

Franklin  as  a  Statesman  January  8, 1906 

Preparedness  March  6,  1916 
The  Present-Day  Business  Man  Cannot  Dispense  with 

the  Present-Day  Lawyer  December  4,  1912 

Lewellys  Franklin  Barker 

The  Plague  as  It  Appears  in  Literature  November  3,  1902 

Cecil  Barnes 

The  French  Constitution  November  17, 1879 

William  Henry  Barnum 

Trial  by  Jury  (Conversation)  May  12, 1879 

Chief  Justice  John  Marshall  the  Expounder  of  the  Con- 
stitution May  12, 1884 

Elwyn  Alfred  Barron 

Namur  April  3, 1893 

John  Henry  Barrows 

Rembrandt,  the  Shakespeare  of  Art  December  3, 1 888 
The  Moral  and  Religious  World  of  Shakespeare  October  1 6, 1 893 
Inaugural  Address  as  President  October  8, 1 895 
Recollections,  Serious  and  Not  Serious,  of  a  World  Pil- 
grimage October  1 8, 1 897 

Adolphus  Clay  Bartlett 

Trade  vs.  Profession  October  15, 18S8 

The  Humor  of  the  Wild  West  October  8, 1 895 

Business  Men  in  the  Present  October  28, 1895 

Hysteria  in  Reform  October  27, 191 3 

George  Preston  Barton 

The  Influence  of  the  Smaller  States  in  Determining  Our 

Form  of  Government  March  30, 1908 

John  Foster  Bass 

Russia  in  Manchuria  (Illustrated)  March  6,  1905 

Fletcher  Stewart  Bassett 

Pleasures  and  Perils  of  a  Sea  Yoyage  December  19, 1887 


[     238     ] 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


Choson:  A  Cruise  in  Forbidden  Seas  November  i6, 1891 

A  Nautical  View  of  the  Fleet  of  Columbus  and  the  Sea 

Life  of  the  Period  March  27,  1 893 

Edsox  Suxderlaxd  Basti.v 

Mineral  Resources  and  Their  Influences  on  Every-day 

Life  March  26,  1923 

George  Batchelor 

Salem                                                    •  Octoberi3, 1884 

Hexry  Moore  Bates 

The  Irish  Question  Historically  Considered  April  12, 1897 

The  Diplomacy  of  William  H.  Seward  May  5,  1902 

Our  Constitutional  Development  as  Affected  by  the  War     December  16, 191 8 

William  Gerrish  Beale 

Public  School  Education  (Conversation)  January  27, 1890 

Hexry  Holmes  Belfield 

Certain  Features  in  Education  in  Europe  November  5, 1894 

Improvements  in  Educational  Methods  April  27,  1896 

Buckle  and  His  Book  May  20, 1901 

New  Year's  Resolutions  January  2,  1905 

Major  General  George  H.  Thomas  March  25,  1907 

Industrial  Education  May  6, 1907 
President  Buchanan  and  the  Forts  in  Charleston  Harbor       May  31,  1909 

John  Calvin  October  1 1,  1909 

William  Thomas  Belfield 

The  Value  of  Mental  Impressions  in  the  Treatment  of 

Disease  February  24,  1 896 
The  Psychology  of  Sex  April  11,  1904 
Recent  Progress  in  Medicine  December  4, 1905 
The  Venereal  Peril  February  24, 1908 
Minnesota's  and  Indiana's  Efforts  to  Prevent  the  Propa- 
gation of  the  Unfit  March  23,  1908 
The  Church  Today  from  the  Pomt  of  View  of  the  Inno- 
cent Bystander  April  24, 191 1 

Cyrus  Bextley 

The  Third  Estate  December  3, 1883 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal"  March  30, 1885 

Frenchman  and  Russian  March  26,  1888 

War  and  Liberty  April  6,1891 

Fraxk  Billixgs 

Micro-organisms  in  Disease  June  9, 1890 

Parasites  April  8,  1901 


[   ^39  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Edward  Tyler  Blair 

Men  and  Manners  at  the  Close  of  the  Eighteenth  Cen- 


tury 
The  Private  Character  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte 
The  First  Grenadier  of  France 

Eliphalet  Wickes  Blatchford 

The  World's  Three  Libraries 

Samuel  Bliss 
Character 

Louis  James  Block 

The  Fascination  of  Pessimism 

Improvements  in  Educational  Methods 

The  Significance  of  the  Realistic  Movement  in  Art  and 

Literature 
Books  of  the  Year  (Symposium) 
Bismarck  and  Gladstone 
An  Imitation  of  Stephen  C.  Foster  (Verses) 
The  Ways  of  Providence  (Story) 
The  Life  and  Work  of  Maxim  Gorky 
A  Shakespearean  Soliloquy 
Edgar  Allan  Poe 
The  Learned  Professions 
Books  of  the  Year  (Symposium) 
The  Gospel  of  Limitation;  a  Review  of  George  Eliot's 

Poetry 
The  Technique  of  the  Drama 
The  Principles  and  Methods  of  Criticism 
Poems 
Five  One-act  Plays 

Henry  Williams  Blodgett 

Early  Mormonism  in  Illinois 
The  Bering  Sea  Controversy 
Slavery  in  Illinois 

James  St.  Clair  Boal 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

Charles  Carroll  Bonney 

American  Antiquities 

Henry  Booth 

Evidences  of  the  Resurrection  Examined 


November  8,  i8^ 
May  14,  1888 
November  30,  i  i 


June  7,  1897 


October  16, 1 88a 


January  7, 1895 
April  27,  1896 

October  12, 1896 
December  18, 1899 
December  17,  1900 
December  22,  1902 
November  30, 1903 
March  5,  1906 
April  23, 1906 
January  18, 1909 
January  29, 1912 
December  16, 191 2 

November  17, 191 3 
December  7,  191 4 
May  24,  191 5 
December  17, 191 7 
November  20, 1922 


March  17,  1884 
April  2, 1894 
January  28,  1895 


April  27,  1885 
February  15, 1875 
May  17,  1875 


[     240    ] 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


Henry  Sherman  Boutell 

Chaucer 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

The  Roll  of  Battle  Abbey  ami  the  Chicago  Public  Li- 
brary 

A  Deserted  Village 

The  Marvelous  Success  of  Our  City  Government  and 
the  Reasons  Therefor  (Conversation) 

The  Life  and  Services  of  Johan  Boiler 

Cioethe  and  His  Epoch 

Is  the  Rush-Bagot  Convention  Immortal? 


February  19, 1883 
October  22,  1883 

June  2,  ii>(jo 
December  1 1,  1893 

May  1 8,  1 896 
June  8,  1896 
October  9,  1899 
October  I4,  1901 


Lewis  Henry  Boutell 

•Alexander  Hamilton,  the  Constructive  Statesman  April  7,  1890 

Inaugural  Address  as  President  October  3, 1 892 

America's  Indebtedness  to  Edmund  Burke  May  20,  1895 

A  Chapter  from  a  "Life  of  Roger  Sherman"  April  20,  1896 


Ingolf  Krogh  Boyesen 

The  Norwegian  Realists 
Some  Norwegian  Story  Tellers 
Jonas  Lie  and  His  Work 

The  New  Woman  as  Authoress  and  Heroine  in  Scandi- 
navian Literature 

Charles  Frederick  Bradley 

The  Caricature  of  Socrates 
Erasmus 

Norman  Bridge 

The  History  of  Oil 

Horace  James  Bridges 

Samuel  Butler's  Erewhon  and  Erewhon  Revisited 

On  a  Certain  Condescension  in  Americans 

George  Eliot  —  A  Centenary  Tribute 

Modern  Tendencies  in  Religion 

The  Tyranny  of  Books 

Are  We  Wiser  or  Better  than  Our  Fathers? 


January  30,  1893 
January  22,  1894 
January  18, 1897 

January  7,  1901 


April  28, 1890 
February  3,  18 


November  8, 1920 


April  23, 191 7 
May  6,  1 91 8 
October  13,  1919 
January  26, 1920 
January  23,  1922 
December  11,  1922 


Mason  Bross 

Some  Sea  Folk-Lore 

Some  Verses  by  the  Ghost  of  Thackeray 

A  Bit  of  Old  Lyme 

[    24>     ] 


January  I4, 1901 
December  22, 1902 
February  13, 1905 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Edward  Osgood  Brown 

The  Modern  Idea  of  Progress:  Is  It  Fallacious?  (Con- 
versation) 
The  Catholics  of  England  in  the  Seventeenth  Century 
The  Records  of  the  Mission  at  Michilimackinac 
Taxation  (Conversation) 

Personal  Recollections  of  the  Early  Days  of  the  Club 
George  Borrow 

A  Catholic's  Contribution — to  "Some  Religious  Views" 
Stephen  A.  Douglas 
Inaugural  Address  as  President 
Old  News 

Ten  Minutes  (Address) 
De  Senectute 

Reminiscences  of  Early  Days  of  the  Club 
Books  of  the  Year  (Symposium) 
Poems 

A  Salem  Sailor  Who  Became  a  Chinese  God 
Vignettes 


George  William  Brown 

Old  Concord 

Starved  Rock 

Margaret  Fuller's  Visit  to  Oregon 

Two  War  Poets 

The  History  of  an  Indian  Title 

Benjamin  Reynolds  Bulkeley 

The  Influence  of  Poetry 
Clarence  Augustus  Burley 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

Evolution 

Utopia 

A  Confab  on  Climbing  (in  Co-operation  with  Frederick 

Wilcox  Clarke) 
The  Punishment  of  Crime 
Art  from  the  Point  of  View  of  a  PhiKstine 
An  Essay  m  Aesthetic  Culture  (Illustrated) 
Inaugural  Address  as  President 
Ralph  Waldo  Emerson 
Books  of  the  Year  (Symposium) 
In  the  Desert 

Books  of  the  Year  (Symposium) 
Books  of  the  Year  (Symposium) 
Utopia;  a  Retrospect 


October  1 8,  1880 
May  21,  18B3 
March  4,  1889 
December  17, 1894 
March  13,  1899 
January  5, 1903 
December  5,  1904 
October  21, 1907     ' 
October  4, 1909 
March  20,  191 1 
October  2,  rgii 
March  9, 1914 
March  16,  1914 
December  14,  191 4 
December  17,  191 7 
January  20, 1919 
February  12, 1923 


May  25,  1903 
April  20,  1914 
March  8,  191 5 
October  22, 1917 
March  22,  1920 


November  16,  1 5 


January  20, 1879 
March  9,  1885 
March  5, 1888 

November  24, 1 890 
March  7,  1898 
April  2,  1900 
April  29,  1 901 
October  6,  1902 
May  25,  1903 
December  3,  1906 
February  10, 1908 
December  21,  1908 
December  20, 1909 
November  21, 19 10 


[     24^    1 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


Books  of  the  Year  (Symposium) 
On  Talking  Away  from  the  Subject 
Books  of  the  Year  (Symposium) 
The  European  War 
Lost  Ideals 

Books  of  the  Year  (Symposium) 
To  Smoke  or  to  Be  Smoked 
Poems 

How  It  Happened 
Stories 

Books  uf  the  Year  (Symposium) 

Three  Stories:  Captain  Mack,  Williams,  and   a   Man 
Whom  Nobody  Could  See 

Daniel  Hudson  Burnham 

The  Uses  of  Expositions 

The  Lake  Front 

The  City  of  the  Future  ' 

John  Curtis  Burroughs 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

Public  School  Education  —  Practical  or  Nothing 

Leonard  Asbury  Busby 

A  Chapter  in  the  History  of  Science 

George  Frank  Butler 

The  Origin,   Development,  and   Use   of  the   English 
Language 

Henry  Turman  Byford 

Some  Characteristics  of  the  Later  Work  of  O.  Henry 
The  Relation  of  Sugar  to  the  Public  Health 
Some  Characteristics  of  Bernard  Shaw's  Dramas 

William  James  Calhoun 

The  Development  of  Our  National  Life 
China  in  Transition 
The  European  War 
The  Monroe  Doctrine 

Herbert  John  Campbell 
George  Moore 
Mind-forged  Manacles 

William  Newnham  Chattin  Carlton 
The  Icelandic  Sagas;  Their  Origin  and  Character 


December  i8,  191 1 
May  27,  191 2 
December  22,  1913 
October  19, 1914 
February  15,  191 5 
May  8,  1916 
May  28,  1917 
December  17,  191 7 
March  10,  1919 
November  8,  1920 
March  19,  1923 

March  3,  1924 


April  15,  1895 
December  14,  1896 
February  6,  191 1 


June  3,  1876 
June  3, 1889 


February  17,  1902 


October  26, 1914 


January  10, 1910 
January  15, 191 2 
April  8,  1917 


April  13, 1908 
March  30,  191 4 
October  19, 1914 
April  3,  1916 


December  10,  1917 
May  12,  1924 


December  12,  1910 


[     243    ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


The  Decline   and  Fall  of  Literary  Ambition  in  The 

Chicago  Literary  Club  (After-dinner  speech)  October  2,  191 1 

Books  in  Manuscript  in  the  Middle  Ages  May  15,  1913 

Amalie  Alvor  Skram  May  18,  1914 


George  Noble  Carman 

The  Public  High  School 

Technological  Education,  Public  and  Private 

Industrial  Education 

The  Industrial  Republic 

Democracy  and  Education 

Frederick  Ives  Carpenter 

The  Elizabethan  Literature  of  Travel  and  Adventure 
Four  Essays  in  One 

Laurence  Arthur  Carton 
The  River  Plate 

William  Warren  Case 

The  Divining  Rod:  A  Study  of  Opinions 

/Eon on i 

The  Modern  Newspaper 

The  Ethics  of  Patriotism 

Verses  by  the  Shade  of  Robert  Herrick 

Helen  of  Troy 

George  Willis  Cass 

The  Island  of  Mackinac 

Edwin  Henry  Cassels 

The  Skokie  in  October 
Robert  Burns,  Democrat 

Robert  Karl  Scott  Catherwood 
The  Great  Company  of  Jesus 

Leander  Trowbridge  Chamberlain 

Physical  Pain;  its  Nature  and  the  Law  of  Its  Dis- 
tribution 

Henry  Porter  Chandler 

Open  Diplomacy 
Presidential  Government 
Beauty  and  the  Law 


May  I,  1899 
April  3,  1905 
May  6,  1907 
October  19,  1908 
October  23,  1916 


May  6,  1901 
March  23,  1903 


October  15,  1917 


February  23,  1891 
April  II,  1892 
December  9,  1895 
May  7, 1900 
December  22, 1902 
October  16, 1905 


December  5,  i' 


February  26,  191 2 
February  18, 191 8 


March  9, 1903 


May  18,  1874 


November  18,  191! 
February  28,  1921 
March  27,  1922 


[    244    ] 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


Thomas  Septimus  Chard 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 
Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 
Our  Social  Relations  with  the  Unfortunate 

HoBART  Chatfield  Chatfield-Taylor 

If  at  First  You  Don't  Succeed  (Story) 
The  King's  Justice 

William  Ludlow  Chenery 

The  Industrial  Relations  Commission 
The  Woman  Movement 
Post  Belium  Reconstruction 

Charles  Edward  Cheney 

Priest  and  Soldier 

The  Best  Fruit  of  the  New  South 

Rienzi  in  History  and  in  Fiction 

A  King  of  France  Unnamed  in  History 

The  Second  Norman  Conquest  of  England 

A  Question  of  Disputed  Authorship.  Inaugural  Address 

as  President 
The  Barefoot  Maid  at  the  Fountain  Inn 
A  Belated  Plantagenet 

Frank  Spooner  Churchill 
Some  Aspects  of  Heredity 

Frederick  Wilcox  Clarke 

Labor  Organizations,  and  Their  Relations  to  Govern- 
ment (Conversation) 

A  Confab  on  Climbiriig  (in  Co-operation  with  Clarence 
Augustus  Burley) 

George  Clinton  Clarke 

The  Machine  in  Politics  (Conversation) 

William  Hull  Clarke 

Recollections  of  Some  Literary  Women  Who  Have 
Visited  Chicago 


January  22,  1877 
November  18,  1878 
February  7,  1881 


April  29,  1895 
November  15,  1897 


February  7,  1916 
December  11,  1916 
May  13, 1 91 8 


June  2,  1884 
February  20, 1888 
February  15, 1892 
March  3,  1902 
March  12,  1906 

October  5, 1908 
November  13,  191 1 
F'ebruary  3,  1913 


February  i,  1897 

October  19, 1885 
November  24,  1890 

May  10,  1880 
April  29, 1878 


Horace  William  Shaler  Cleveland 

The  Artistic  Decoration  and  Improvement  of  Our  Streets     November  16,  1874 
Literary  Culture  in  a  Business  Community  June  4,  1877 

[  245  1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Robert  Collyer 

Literature  and  Great  Cities 
The  Compliments  of  the  Season 
An  Episode  in  the  Life  of  Edward  Fairfax 
Friend  Jacob  Bright  and  His  Son  John 
Informal  Address 
Informal  Address 
The  Early  Days  of  the  Club 

Memories  of  Early  Days  and  Early  Members  of  the 
Club 

ROSSETTER  GlEASON  ColE 

Musical  Inspirations  from  Longfellow 
The  Melodrama  as  a  Modern  Music  Form 


June  15,1874 

December  18,  1876 

April  I,  1879 

April  14,  1890 
April  27,  1896 
November  1,  1897 
April  30,  1900 

October  9, 1905 


December  19,  1904 
February  4,1907,  and 
April  I,  1907 


John  Adams  Cole 

A  Civic  Hero:  a  Sketch  of  Ellis  S.  Chesbrough's  Chi- 
cago Service 
The  English  in  India 

Algernon  Coleman 

Gustave  Flaubert  as  a  Letter  Writer 

Wells  Morrison  Cook 

The  Morals  Court  —  Its  Tragedies  and  Comedies 

Edwin  Gilbert  Cooley 

The  Public  Schools 

Public  School  Education  and  Morals 

"Breathes  There  the  Man  .  .  .  ?  " 

Stoughton  Cooley 

'Twixt  the  Devil  and  the  Deep  Sea 

Frederic  Shurtleff  Coolidge 

The  Value  of  Mental  Impressions  in  the  Treatment  of 
Disease 

Avery  Coonley 

Seen  and  Heard  in  England 

Experiences  in  the  Jury  Room 

Past  History  and  Present  Problems 

Miss  Addams'  Book  and  the  Social  Settlement 

The  Subjugation  of  Emma  Town 


May  15,  1905 
April  25, 1910 


May  12,  1919 
October  20,  1919 


February  i, 1904 
April  3,  1905 
April  2,  1923 


November  7,  1904 


February  24,  i! 


February  3, 1902 
December  7,  1903 
April  29, 1907 
May  16,  1910 
March  4,  191 2 


[  246  ] 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


Henry  Frederick  Cope 

William  Humfrey,  Craftsman,  1568 
Some  Tendencies  and  Ideals  in  Education,  with  Espe- 
cial Reference  to  Elementary  Education 
The  House  with  the  Green  Dog  (Story) 
The  Education  of  Anab 
Cockney  Characteristics 
Poems 

English  as  She  is  Taught 
Modern  Tendencies  in  Religion 
Trapper  Creek 
More  Tales  of  Trapper  Creek 


David  Timothy  Corbi.v 

Reconstruction  Reconstructed 

John  Merle  Coulter 

An  Eccentric  Naturalist  (Rafinesque) 

Frederick  Courtney 

Symbolism 

Charles  Ryerson  Crane 
Russia 

John  Crerar 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 
Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 
Edited  and  read  an  'Informal" 
Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

Lester  Curtis 

Charle:>  Robert  Darwin 

Simplicius  Simplicissimus 

A  German  Scholar  on  Autocracy 

Charles  Sidney  Cutting 

The  Constitution  and  the  Mule  (After-dinner  speech) 
A  Forgotten  Incident  of  the  Great  Rebellion 
Fishing  (After-dinner  speech) 
The  Forty-fifth  Parallel 

George  Kellogg  Dauchy 

Reminiscences  of  an  Argonaut  of '49 
The  Battle  of  Ream's  Station 

I  247  1 


March  6,  1098 

January  25, 1909 
February  19,  191 2 
February  2, 1914 
January  10,  191 6 
March  5,  1917 
April  I,  1918 
January  26, 1920 
November  15,  1920 
February  6,  1922 


February  14,  i! 


November  23,  1896 


January  16, 1882 


March  6, 1905 


March  19,  1877 
April  15,  1878 
April  21,  1879 
February  21,  18 81 


February  8,  1909 
April  21,  1913 
January  21,  1918 


October  10,  1910 
F-'ebruary  24,  19 13 
October  6,  1913 
October  29,  1917 


December  12,  189a 
November  14,  1898 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Henri  Charles  Edouard  David 

A  Chinese  Tale  by  Theophile  Gautier 

Contrasts  in  English  and  French  Romanticism 

The  Real  Roger  Bontemps 

Poems 

The  Successors  of  Moliere 

Flaubert  and  Georges  Sand 

Bradley  Moore  Davis 

Some  Evolutionary  Factors  Influencing  Society 
Some  Impressions  of  Egypt  (Illustrated) 

Edward  Parker  Davis 

Wagner's  Parsifal 

Nathan  Smith  Davis,  Jr. 

Laymen  as  Medical  Educators 
Senate  Bill  1063 

Chester  Mitchell  Dawes 

The  Yellowstone  Park 

George  Ellis  Dawson 

The  Integral  Phalanx  (the  Fourrier  Experiment  in  Illinois) 
The  Holland  Land  Company 
Amiel  et  son  Journal  Intime 
The  Diary  of  Henry  Crabb  Robinson 
Professor  John  Bickerstadt  Dickinson  Mayor 
Mary  VVollstonecraft  and  the  Rights  of  Woman 
The  Story  of  a  Very  Great  Writer — W.  H.  Hudson 
Are  Lawyers  Leaders  or  Followers   in  the  Improve- 
ment of  Society? 

Charles  William  Deering 

A  Defenceless  Coast 

Franklin  Denison 
The  New  Epic 

Frederic  Adrian  Delano 

American  Railways 

An  Analysis  of  Human  Character 

Authority  and  Responsibility 

Some  of  the  Underlying  Causes  of  Unrest 


January  24,  1916 
May  14,  1917 
February  3,  1919 
November  3,  191 9 
March  20,  1922 
January  14, 1924 


April  15,  1 901 
April  17,  1905 


May  16,  1887 


January  19, 1891 
March  21,  1898 


January  28,  li 


November  6,  1893 
January  16, 1899 
March  16,  1903 
May  4, 1908 
May  13, 1912 
April  6,  1914 
April  2,  1917 

February  23, 1920 


December  9,  i! 


December  3,  1877 


May  13,  1901 
April  24,  1905 
January  31,  1909 
March  2, 1914 


[     248     ] 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


Thomas  Dent 

The  Plummet  Applied  Anon 

Sir  Thomas  More 

Law  Reports  as  Memorials  of  History  and  Biography 

Some  Glimpses  of  Legal  History  and  Progress 


Fletcher  Dobyns 

Justice  Holmes  and  the  Fourteenth  Amendment 

William  Edward  Dodd 

Robert  James  Walker,  Imperialist 

Henry  Clay,  Insurgent,  1 817-1825 

American  History  (Review  of  Current  Literature) 

The  Mind  of  Woodrow  Wilson 

Wood  row  Wilson  or  Theodore  Roosevelt,  1918 

A  Chapter  from  the  History  of  the  Old  South 

Thomas  Elliott  Donnelley 

The  Labor  Question 
Franklin  as  a  Printer 
Industrial  Education 

Some  Thoughts  on  the  Practical  Aspects  of  Trade  Edu- 
cation 
The  War  in  Retrospect 
Some  Aspects  of  the  Building  Situation 

James  Rood  Doolittle,  Jr. 

Chaucer 

Emilius  Clark  Dudley 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

As  Others  See  Us 

A  Historic  Gambling  Debt 

The  Life  and  Services  of  Johan  Boiler  (Address) 

The  Outlook  for  the  Professional  Man 

The  Heroine  of  American  Liberty 

Louyse  Bourgeoise,  Midwife:  Her  Account  of  the  Ac- 
couchement of  Marie  de  Medici,  Wife  of  Henry  IV 

The  Progress  of  Medicine  from  a  Remote  Past  to  Mod- 
ern Times 

A  Glimpse  or  Two  in  China,  and  a  Thing  or  Two  on  the 
Way 

Charles  Analdo  Dupee 

The  Dissolution  of  the  Whig  Party 


February  18, 1889 
March  26,  1894 
February  22,  1904 
November  18,  1907 


March  11,  191 8 


October  28,  1912 
March  13,  1916 
January  15,  1917 
March  31,  191 9 
February  16, 1920 
May  7,  1923 


November  2,  1903 
January  8, 1906 
May  6,  1907 

January  23,  191 1 
May  17,  1920 
November  13,  1922 


November  15,  1875 

October  24,  1881 
December  17,  1883 
November  16,  1885 
November  13,  1893 
June  8, 1896 
March  26,  1900 
March  27,  1905 

May  6,  191 2 

January  12,  1920 

April  28,  1924 

January  19, 1880 


[     249    ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Sidney  Corning  Eastman 

Cabot,  the  Discoverer  of  North  America 
Eight  Years  in  the  British  Consulate,  by  Zebina  East- 
man 
More's  Utopia  with  Modern  Illustrations 

Marquis  Eaton 

Too  Many  Cooks 

James  Herron  Eckels 

Pamphlets  and  Pamphleteers  of  the  Cromwellian  Period 

Charles  Raymond  Ege 

A  Look  Across  the  Border 

George  William  Eggers 

Some  Modern  Developments  of  Industrial  Education, 
Particularly  as  Related  to  General  Education 

Charles  William  Eliot 

The  Qualities  and  Resources  of  Harvard  University 

Frank  Macager  Elliot 

A  Political  Episode  in  1856 

Joseph  Washington  Errant 

The  Public  Service 

Lynden  Evans 

Congressional  Films  (Story) 
The  Interparliamentary  Union 
Some  Limitations  of  Democracy 

Nathaniel  Kellogg  Fairbank 

Fish  (Conversation) 

Samuel  Fallows 

New  Dictionaries  and  the  Common  People 
Irrational  Metaphysics 

Albert  George  Farr 

Mountains  and  Some  Early  Writers  on  Mountaineering 

Marvin  Andrus  Farr 

The  Perverted  Dogma  of  Equality 

[    250    ] 


January  11,  1897 

March  3,  1919 
March  14, 1921 


February  13, 1922 
February  12, 1900 
December  17,  1923 

May  30,  1910 
February  9,  1891 
March  15,  1897 
April  2,  1906 


November  27,  1916 
January  8, 1917 
December  3,  1917 


March  8,  1886 


April  7,  1884 
April  25,  1887 


November  7,  1904 
December  2,  1895 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


John  Villiers  Farwell,  Jr. 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 
Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

Henry  Baird  Favill 

The  Relations  of  Diet  to  Modern  Therapeutics 
College  Athletics;   a  Hindrance   to  General   Physical 
Education 

William  Lyman  Fawcett 

The  Press:  Its  Function  and  Influence  (Conversation) 

Charles  Norman  Fay 

The  Telephone  and  Kindred  Inventions 

A  Day  at  Sea 

The  Bitter  Cry  of  the  Outcast  Corporation 

A  Wyoming  Horse  Ranch 

Thou  Art  Twenty  Years  of  Age,  My  Lady  Literary 

Twenty  Minutes  of  Verse 

Personal  Experiences  with  Boodlers 

Love  Scene  from  the  Third  Act 

William  Wallace  Fenn 

A  Literary  Study  of  the  Book  of  Job 

What  Is  the  Elssential  Element  in  Religion? 

The  Humor  of  the  Bible ' 

Sir  David  Lyndsay 

The  Clouds  of  Aristophanes 

Robert  Collyer  Fergus 

The  Bays  of  Apollo 

Walter  Taylor  Field 
Types  of  American  Fiction 

Morris  Fishbein 

Medicine  in  the  Novel  and  the  Press 

George  Purxell  Fisher,  Jr. 

The  Trail  to  Health 
Walter  Lowrie  Fisher 

Can  Democracy  Exist  under  Party  Government? 
The  Ethics  of  Present-day  Finance 
The  Literature  of  Alaska.   Inaugural  .Address  as  Presi- 
dent 
The  World  War  and  the  Monroe  Doctrine 


October  27, 1884 
January  10, 1887 


May  II,  1896 

April  15,  1907 

April  8,  1876 


December  5,  1881 
December  29,  1884 
December  13,  1886 
November  19,  1888 
March  19,  1894 
October  29,  1894 
November  20,  1899 
January  27,  1902 


April  23,  1894 
January  27,  1896 
January  4, 1897 
February  13,  1899 
December  10,  1900 


January  6, 1919 
May  8,  1922 
October  29, 1923 
April  26,  1909 


February  i,  1904 
January  16, 191 i 

October  6,  1913 
December  6,  191 5 


[     251     ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


George  Foster  Fiske 

Experiences  in  Mountain  Climbing 

George  Alanson  Follansbee 

The  Outlook  for  the  Professional  Man 
A  Man  of  Courage:  John  Fox  Potter 

Trowbridge  Brigham  Forbush 

The  Cause  and  Cure  of  Pauperism  (Conversation) 
Education  and  Crime 

Henry  Brewster  Freeman 

A  Shipmaster's  Journal 

Henry  Varnum  Freeman 

The  Feasibility  of  a  Sustained  Policy  of  Tariff  Reform 

in  the  United  States  (Conversation) 
General  George  H.  Thomas 
Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 
A  New  England  Viking 
Glimpses  of  Old  Colony  Life 
Inaugural  Address  as  President 
Lincoln  and  Douglas  at  Freeport 
The  Spirit  of  Longfellow's  Poetry  as  an  Exponent  of 

New  England  Life  , 

An  Old  New  England  Parish 
The  Ethics  of  Present-day  Finance 

Charles  Wallace  French 

Democracy  and  the  Public  Shools 

Sicily  and  Its  Passion  Play 

Doctor  John  Brown  and  His  Edinburgh 

Ugo  Bassi 

Parthenope 

William  Merchant  Richardson  French 

Chalk  versus  Talk,  with  Illustrations 

Graphic  Art;  with  Illustrations 

The  Styles  of  Michael  Angelo  and  Phidias  Compared 
and  Illustrated 

The  Elements  of  Expression  in  Ideal  and  Decora- 
tive Art 

Observations  and  Illustrations  touching  the  Treatment 
of  Light-and-Shade  and  Color  in  Pictures  and 
Decoration 

The  Innocency  of  Vision 


February  i8, 1901 


March  16,  1900 
January  26,  1903 


January  14,  i8' 
March  3, 1879 


November  14,  1921 


January  12, 1885 
May  24,  1886 
May  II,  1891 
February  26,  1894 
April  25,  1898 
October  3,  1898 
February  9,  1903 

February  27,  1905 
March  11,  1907 
January  16, 1911 


November  19,  1900 
January  9, 1905 
February  11,  1907 
May  24,  1909 
April  18,  1910 


May  27, 1876 
October  30,  1876 

January  31, 1881 

June  I,  1885 


October  22, 1888 
November  30,  1891 


[     252    ] 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


The  Conventional  Element  in  Pictures  and  Decoration 
The  Artistic  Qualities  of  the  Modern   Caricaturists, 

especially  certain  Old  English  Caricaturists 
Personal  Recollections  of  the  Early  Days  of  the  Club 
Reminiscences  of  Old  Concord,  containing  some  things 

not  in  the  books 
The  Practical  Education  of  an  Artist 
Letters  from  a  Correspondence  between  1826  and  1870 
Sympathetic  Imagination  as  an  Instrument  of  Criticism, 

Literary  and  Artistic.  Inaugural  Address  as  President 
The  Value  of  a  Line 
Memories  of  the  Early  Days  of  the  Club 

Charles  Gordon  Fuller 

Photography  in  its  Application  to  Scientific 
Research 

Report  on  Recent  Explorations  in  the  Sub-Polar  Re- 
gions of  Cook  County  (in  co-operation  with  Frederick 
Greeley) 

Melville  Weston  Fuller 

Thomas  Jefferson  (Conversation) 
Gladstone  (Conversation) 
The  President's  Vetoes 
Jack  Cade 

Henry  Jewett  Furber,  Jr. 

Money  as  a  Popular  Ideal 

Americans  at  the  Universities  of  France 

Social  Equilibrium 

William  Eliot  Furness 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 
Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 
Was  Thomas  Paine  in  Advance  of  His  Time? 
The  Negro  Soldier  during  the  War  of  the  Rebellion 
Edited  and  read  an  "Informal"  (Five  Papers  on  Har- 
vard University) 
An  Elective  Judiciary 
Memories  of  Early  Members  of  the  Club 
Inaugural  Address  as  President 
Remarkable  Professional  Experiences 
A  Militia  Company  in  1863 
A  Glimpse  of  Manx  Land 
Rothenburg 
The  Battle  of  Olustee,  February  20, 1864 


October  31, 1892 

December  21,  1896 
March  13,  1899 

March  30,  1903 
December  2,  1907 
April  15,  1912 

October  7,  1912 
May  19,  1913 
March  16,  1914 


April  2,  1888 
April  22,  1901 


April  13,  1880 
December  12,  li 
May  9,  1887 
June  II,  1888 


November  13, 1899 
November  5,  1900 
May  22,  1905 


February  3,  1876 
March  26,  1883 
April  5,  1886 
Aprils,  1889 

February  9,  1891 
January  9, 1893 
March  19,  1894 
October  8, 1894 
November  25,  1895 
April  3,  1899 
March  18,  1 901 
December  8,  1902 
May  I,  1905 


[  ^S3  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Fredrik  Herman  Gade 
Bjornsterne  Bjornsen 

Lyman  Judson  Gage 

Gold  and  Silver  as  Money 

An  Episode  in  a  Banker's  Experience 

Edward  Ilsley  Galvin 
The  Humorist  as  a  Benefactor 

Edwin  James  Gardiner 

The  Nature  of  and  the  Perception  of  Color 
How  It  Is  Done  in  Spain 
Cosas  de  Espaiia 

Victor  Garwood 
Doctor  Burney 

Frank  Gilbert 

Competitive  Transportation  (Conversation) 
American  Financial  Innovation 
The  Robert  Eismere  Craze 
The  Census  (Conversation) 

Different  Views  of  the  Same  Subject:  The  Daily  News- 
paper 

Simeon  Gilbert 
The  Newspaper 

Thomas  Lewis  Gilmer 
Motor  Boats 

Irwin  Thoburn  Gilruth 

Vigilante  Days 

Campaigns  and  Their  Shibboleths 

John  Jacob  Glessner 

Two  Noted  Diarists 

Potatoes 

And  Thereby  Hangs  a  Tail 

Farming 

An  October  Sunday  in  Massachusetts 

Graveyard  Literature 

Leroy  Truman  Goble 

Cockaigne 

The  Abode  of  Silence 

Suppressed  Books,  or  the  Changing  Face  of  Censorship 


April  21,  190a 


October  17,  18S 
March  9,  1896 


January  13, 1890 


February  22, 1886 
March  28,  1892 
November  7,  1898 


February  18, 1907 

October  17,  1881 
March  24,  1884 
May  13,  1889 
June  8, 1891 

March  23,  1896 
January  18, 1875 
March  18,  1907 


January  19,  1920 
February  19,  1923 


December  7,  1885 
November  9,  1908 
December  15, 191 3 
December  13,  1915 
November  6, 1916 
December  12,  1921 


February  7,  1921 
December  18,  1922 
November  19,  1923 


[    254    ] 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


Daniel  Goodwin 

The  Dearborns 
A  Pantheon  Day  in  Rome 
Our  Supreme  Eulogist 

A  Memorial  Essay  on  Thomas    Hughes,  with    some 
account  ot  his  visits  to  Chicago  in  1870  and  1881 


October  15,  1883 
May  30,  1887 
November  26,  188 

June  8, 1896 


Frederick  William  Gookin 

The  Old  Masters  of  Japan 

Gold  Shipments  and  the  Practical  Aspect  of  the  Silver 
Question  (Conversation) 

The  Degradation  of  the  Press  and  Its  Influence  on  the 
American  People  (Conversation) 

The  Aesthetic  Value  of  Japanese  Art 

Have  Serious  Defects  in  Our  System  of  Government 
Developed,  and  If  So,  What  Is  the  Remedy? 

The  Spirit  and  Tendencies  of  the  Times  (Conversation) 

A  Chapter  from  a  History  of  the  Club 

Our  Defective  American  Banking  System:  a  Diagnosis 
and  a  Prescription 

Does  Civilization  Change  Human  Nature?  (Conversa- 
tion) 

What  Is  Art? 

Extracts  from  a  History  of  the  Club 

The  European  War 

Essential  Qualities  in  Works  of  Art 

The  Theatre  in  Japan 

The  War  Debts  and  the  Wage  Workers  of  the  World 

Chapters  from  a  History  of  the  Club 

Chapters  Three  and  Four  from  a  History  of  the  Club 

The  Chicago  Literary  Club:  more  chapters  from  its 
early  history.   Inaugural  Address  as  President 

Still  more  Chapters  of  Club  History 

Rosemary  for  Remembrance:  Fifty  Years  of  Club  His- 
tory 


January  16, 1888 

April  24,  189J 

October  15,  1894 
February  17,  1896 

February  5,  1900 
November  24,  1902 
January  25,  1904 

November  2,  1908 

November  7,  191c 
December  1,  191 3 
March  16,  1914 
October  19, 1914 
November  15,  191 5 
May  7,  191 7 
March  24,  191 8 
May  26,  19 1 9 
May  24,  1920 

October  10, 1921 
January  15, 1922 

March  24,  1924 


John  Cowles  Grant 

The  Rights  of  Children 

The  Weapons  of  Tyranny 

The  Law's  Delays 

The  Purely  Commercial  Aspect  of  the  Tuskegee  Move- 
ment 

A  Sunday  at  Tuskegee 

The  Civil  War  as  It  Appeared  to  a  Boy;  with  Some 
Account  of  Two  Weeks  at  the  Front 

The  Menace  of  the  Theatre 


February  8,  1892 
February  22, 1897 
December  21,  1903 

March  20,  1905 
January  13, 1908 

October  17,  1910 
October  14,  1912 


^S5 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Frederick  Greeley 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

As  Others  See  Us 

Charles  Babbage 

The  Need  of  the  Hour  (Potpourri) 

The  Issues  of  the  Late  Campaign  (Conversation) 

An  Experiment  in  Revenue  Reform  in  North  Carolina 

Personal  Reminiscences  Connected  with  Social  Life  in 
New  England 

The  Fairy  Tale  of  the  Magical  Hatchet 

Report  on  Recent  Explorations  in  the  Sub-Polar  Regions 
of  Cook  County;  with  Ethnographic  Notes  upon  the 
Tribes  Inhabiting  the  Mountainous  Portions  Thereof. 
Illustrated  with  maps,  views,  and  specimens  (in  col- 
laboration with  Charles  Gordon  Fuller) 

Appeared  as  a  Twentieth-Century  Santa  Claus  in  a 
Christmas  Tree  Celebration 

Historical  and  Biographical  Notes  of  Lake  Forest, 
Illinois 


Samuel  Sewall  Greeley 

Measures  Not  Men 

The  Need  of  the  Hour 

From  Throne  to  Scaffold 

International  Units:  a  Metrical  Essay 

Personal  Reminiscences  Connected  with  Social  Life  in 

New  England 
Cherchez  la  femme 
Inaugural  Address  as  President 
The  Burning  of  Cities 

Charles  Augustus  Gregory 

The  History  of  It  (Marcus  TuUius  Cicero) 

Concerning  the  Militia 

The  Great  American  Desert:  the  Arid  Region  and  the 

Means  of  Its  Reclamation 
A  Vision  and  a  Dream 

Otto  Gresham 

Lamartine 

Hans  Ernst  Gronow 

The  Influence  of  Nietzsche  upon  Germany 

Thomas  Williams  Grover 
The  New  American 


February  9,  i88< 
November  16,  i{ 
June  4,  1888 
April  18,  1892 
June  II, 1894 
March  25,  1895 

March  28,  1898 
April  I,  1 90 1 


April  22,  1901 
December  22,  1902 
November  i,  1909 


May  18,  1885 
April  18,  1892 
April  10, 1893 
March  i,  1897 

March  28,  1898 
December  19,  189 
October  i,  1900 
October  12,  1903 


December  17,  1877 
November  3,  1879 

November  18,  1889 
March  4, 1895 


February  12, 1906 
October  16, 1916 
June  16, 1897 


[    2J6    ] 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


Frank  Wakely  Gunsaulus 

Robert  Browning  and  the  New  Theology 

Karleton  Hackett 

Music  in  the  Social  Life  of  Our  New  England  Ancestors 
William  Billings,  the  First  American  Musician 

William  Brown  Hale 

Arthur  Young's  Travels  in  France 

Thomas  Cuming  Hall 

American  Credulity  and  the  Fallacies  of  Irish  Home 

Rule 
The  Vulgar  Life  of  Berlin 
Wagner  as  Poet  and  Critic 

John  Julius  Halsey 
The  Arthurian  Romance 

Charles  Davisson  Hamill 

A  Talk  about  Engravings  (Conversation) 

Arthur  Little  Hamilton 
Alaska 

John  Henry  Hamline 

Municipal  Reform  (Conversation) 
A  Night  in  the  House  of  Commons 

Norman  Hapgood 

The  Art  of  Henry  James 
Martin  D  Hardin 

Army  Experiences 

The  Defense  of  Washington  against  Early's  Attack  in 

July,  1864 
Military  Life  in  Oregon  before  the  War 
Malaria  Cured  without  Drugs 
The  Reformation  of  City  Government 
Political  and  Social  Life  in  Illinois  in  the  Thirties" 
The  Failure  of  the  American  System  of  Education  and 

Its  Causes 
The  Labor  Question 

Edward  John  Harding 

Selections   from  a   Poetical   Translation   of  "Le  Roi 
s'Amuse" 


October  29, 1888        / 


May  18,  1903 
January  27, 1908 


December  6,  1909 


December  23,  1889 
October  17, 1892 
November  20,  1893 


March  21.  li 


January  9, 1882 


January  9, 1922 


January  21, 1895 
March  11,  1895 


November  12,1^94 


May  9, 1 88 1 

May  17,  1886 
October  26, 189I 
October  22,  1894 
April  4,  1904 
October  14, 1907 

October  23, 191 1 
October  20,  19 13 


January  23,  1893 


[     257     ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


George  Franklin  Harding 

Civil  Service  Reform 

Charles  James  Fox 

How  to  Guess  What  Is  on  the  Other  Side  of  the  Hill 

Paul  Vincent  Harper 

Personal  Experiences  while  learning  Arabic  in  Jerusalem 
and  Syria 

William  Rainev  Harper 

Art  among  the  Hebrews 

Semitic  Literature  as  Illustrated  by  the  Code  of  Ham- 
murabi 

Winfield  Scott  Harpole 

Oliver  Wendell  Holmes 

Hannah  More  and  Her  Times 

Sir  Thomas  Browne 

A  War-time  Magazine 

A  Successful  Suicide  (Story) 

The  Golden  Age 

Hygiene  for  the  Middle  Aged 

Edward  Avery  Harriman 

James  Boswell 

The  Right  to  Govern 

Karl  Edwin  Harriman 
An  Editor  Confesses 
The  Education  of  an  Editor 

Samuel  Smith  Harris 

European  Races  in  America  (Conversation) 

Pliny  Nelson  Haskell 
The  English  Land  Problem 

Azel  Farnsworth  Hatch 

The  Lawyer's  Conscience 

Is  the  Influence  of  Newspaper  Opinion  Declining? 

Social  Dreamers 

The  Right  of  Search 

Fred  Vermillia  Hawley 
Fellowship 

A  Study  of  Religion  as  the  Outgrowth  of  Industry 
The  Great  Illusion 


November  7,  i? 
October  8, 188 j 
April  19,1886 


November  10,  191 9 

May  16,  1898 
January  30,  1905 


May  17,  1909 
November  14, 1 910 
November  24, 1913 
November  23, 1914 
November  27,  191 6 
January  13, 1919 
April  25,  1921 


June  I,  1896 
March  19,  1900 


May  14,  1923 
March  31,  1924 


December  10,  1877 


March  i,  1880 


February  15,  18: 
May  28,  1894 
April  14, 1902 
March  21,  1904 


November  6,  1905 
March  7,  1910 
March  11,  1912 


258     ] 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


Franklin  Harvey  Head 

Shakespeare's  Insomnia 

Browning's  "Ivan  Ivanovitch" 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

Inaugural  Address  as  Presiilent 

Legends  of  Jckyl  Island 

The  Humor  of  the  Pulpit 

A  Notable  Lawsuit 

The  Boodling  of  Dante  and  Its  Influence  on  His  Work 

Recollections  of  the  Early  Days  of  the  Club 

Trades  Unionism 

John  Fiske 

The  History  of  the  Bacon  Folly 


Charles  Dowxs  Helmer 

The  Ring 

Brooke  Herford 

The  Need  of  More  Rest  in  American  Life 

Labor  Troubles,  Recent  and  to  Come  (Conversation) 

The  Sunday  Question  (Conversation) 

Inaugural  Address  as  President 

The  Land  Question  in  Ireland  (Conversation) 

The  Greek  Play  at  Harvard  (Conversation) 

Aristocracy  in  America 

An  Old  English  Town 

James  Bryan  Herrick 

William  Lilly,  a  Seventeenth  Century  Astrologer  and 

Quack 
My  Summers  in  a  Garden 
The  Passing  of  the  Family  Doctor 
Why  I  Read  Chaucer  at  Sixty 

JoHX  Jacob  Herrick 

The  Justice  and  Expediency  of  Usury  Statutes 

Robert  Hervev 

The  Genius  and  Character  of  Walter  Scott 

Homer  Nash  Hibbard 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

The  Reform  of  English  Spelling  (Conversation) 


Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 
Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 


May  •},  1886 
June  1 8, 1888 
April  29,  1889 
October  13,  1890 
December  5,  1892 
October  8,  1895 
January  13, 1896 
April  8,  1898 
March  13,  1899 
March  12,  1900 
March  31,  1902 
April  23, 1906 


December  21,  1874 


October  16, 1876 
October  8,  1877 
January  13,  1879 
October  4, 1880 
December  6,1880 
May  30,  1 88 1 
February  6,  1882 
February  22, 1892 


January  17, 1916 
March  28,  1921 
April  10,  1922 
January  28,  1924 


May  4,  1885 


January  4, 1875 


May  21,  1877 
November  10,  1879 
January  11, 1886 
January  26, 1891 


[  259  J 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


James  Lambert  High 

A  Great  Chancellor  (Lord  Eldon) 

What  Shall  We  Do  with  the  Murderers?  (Conversation) 

On  Certain  Tendencies  in  the  Legal  Profession 

The  Evolution  of  the  Mugwump 

Inaugural  Address  as  President 

My  Hero 

My  Most  Remarkable  Professional  Experience 


Newell  Dwight  Hillis 
John  Ruskin 

Joseph  Watson  Hiner 

Cranks:  An  Appreciation 

Tolstoi's  Rank  as  a  Philosopher  (Conversation) 

The  Message  of  Shelley  to  the  Twentieth  Century 

Emil  Gustav  Hirsch 

Reform  Judaism  (Conversation) 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

The  Philosophy  of  Fashion 

The  Koran 

The  New  Bible 

Patriotism,  Its  Danger  and  Its  Duties  (Conversation) 

Woman  in  Recent  Fiction 

Elements  and  Tests  of  Civilization 

Heine  and  Germany 

An  Old  Book— The  Talmud 

Fairy  Tales  and  Myths 

Jesse  Holdom 
Andreas  Hofer 

Charles  Sumner  Holt 

The  Future  of  American  Literature  (Conversation) 

Sumner  and  Slavery 

The  Last  Roman  Republic;  1849 

A  Dante  Gabriel  Rossetti  Poem 

At  the  Court  of  the  Great  Mogul 

The  Church  and  the  Modern  Man 

George  Hubbard  Holt 

Gold-Washers,  Indians,  and  Big  Game 
Some  Local  Discoveries  and  Applications  of  Art 
A  Poem  by  the  Ghost  of  Cervantes 
Inaugural  Address  as  President 

[    260    ] 


June  3, 1878 
February  13, 1882 
March  10,  1884 
February  13, 1888 
October  i,  1888 
December  11, 1893 
November  25,  1895 


November  8,  1897 


October  8,  1900 
October  27, 1902 
April  9,  1906 


November  13,  1882 
March  31,  1884 
October  24,  1887 
February  29, 1892 
October  10,  1892 
March  16,  1896 
April  26,1897 
October  28,  1901 
December  12,  1904 
October  30, 1905 
January  4,  1909 


February  17, 1908 


December  8,  1884 
March  12,  1894 
February  20,  1899 
December  22,  1902 
May  4,  1903 
April  17, 191 1 


February  4,  1895 
February  28, 1898 
December  22,  1902 
October  9, 1905 


Papers  Rkad  Before  the  Club 


Painting  by  Sunlight  (IlliistratccI  by  an  exposition  of 

the  processes  of  colt)r-photography) 
A  German's  Description  of  the  Fitzsimmons-Corbett 

Pri;:e  Kit^ht  (Recitation) 
The  Welfare  of  the  Club 


Oliver  Harvey  Horton 

Crime  and  Its  Punishment  (Conversation) 

James  Lawrence  Houghteling 

An  Orthodox  Scientist 

Some  Problems  in  Benevolence;   with  Examples  (Con- 
versation) 

George  Howland 

The  American  College  (Conversation) 

A  Metrical  Translation 

The  Vice-Presidency  (Conversation) 

What  Shall  We  Teach  Our  Boys? 

Inaugural  Address  as  President 

What  Was  the  Matter  with  Hamlet? 

Patriotism  vs.  Philanthropy 

The  Purpose  of  the  Public  Schools 

George  Carter  Rowland 

San  Marino,  the  Oldest  Republic  in  the  World 

Machiavelli 

Some  Memories  of  the  Spanish  Stage 

Dante 

A  Review  of  Longfellow's  Life  and  Work 

Gabriele  D'Annunzio 

Luigi  Settembrini 

Frederic  Mistral 

Arnold  Bennett 

A  Legend  of  Imperial  Toledo 

Walter  Morton  Howland 
A  Trip  through  the  Berkshires 

William  Hammond  Hubbard 

Alaskan  Experiences 

Reminiscences  of  Alexander  Graham  Bell  and  the  Tele- 
phone in  1875-76 

Morton  Denison  Hull 

Charles  Sumner 


December  13,  1909 

May  29,  191 1 
October  6, 191 3 


Octobers,  188J 

June  8, 1885 
March  7,  1887 


March  12,  1877 
November  15,  1880 
November  14,  1881 
May  8,  1882 
October  2,  1882 
December  15,  1884 
February  16,  1885 
May  4,  1891 


May  4, 1896 
February  8, 1897 
January  8, 1900 
December  2,  1901 
February  27, 1905 
November  13,  1905 
March  2,  1908 
November  8,  1909 
May  20,  1 91 2 
January  19, 1914 


December  1 8, 1 899 

February  27, 1899 
April  16,  1906 

March  14, 1904 


[  261  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


James  Anthony  Hunt 
The  English  In  India 
Incidents  of  Travel 

Henry  Alonzo  Huntington 

A  Neglected  Author 

A  Predecessor  of  Tennyson 

A  Royal  Cook's  Wife  (Mrs.  Centlivre) 

Actor,  Soldier,  and  Poet 

Inaugural  Address  as  President 

Demetrios  Bikelas 

Personal  Recollections  of  the  Early  Days  of  the  Club 

Charles  Lawrence  Hutchinson 

Art:  Its  Excellence  and  Influence  in  Modern  Times 

Ecco  Roma 

The  So-called  Moro  and  Loto  Portraits  of  Columbus 

The  Land  of  Yesterday  and  Tomorrow 

The  Business  Man  of  the  Future 

India 

Stray  Thoughts  about  Russia 

Notes  of  a  Traveler  in  Italy 

An  Automobile  Tour  in  France 

Inaugural  Address  as  President 

The  Ethics  of  Present-day  Finance 

Payne  and  Shorey:  the  Two  Antipholi  (Verses) 

Art  and  Democracy 

The  Progress  of  the  Fine  Arts  in  the  West 

The  War  in  Retrospect 

The  Development  of  Art  Museums  in  the  United  States 

After  Nature,  Art 

James  Nevins  Hyde 

The  African  Republic 

National  Traits  in  Medicine 

The  Two  Stonewalls 

One  Night:  a  Sketch 

Some  of  the  Consequences  of  Eating  Historical  Straw- 
berries 

Inaugural  Address  as  President 

Glimpses  of  a  Twice-fought  Field;  with  incidental  refer- 
ence to  a  disused  weapon  ot  war 

A  Cruise  to  Carrickfergus 

Leisler 

A  Sprig  of  Rosemary  (Verses) 

Lore  of  the  Coin 

Mortui  Salutamus  (Poem) 


December  2, 187c 
October  19, 1896 


December  4,  1876 
November  5,  1877 
May  5,  1879 
October  11,  1880 
October  i, 1883 
February  22, 1892 
March  13,  1899 


March  14,1887 
December  16,  1889 
October  3, 1892 
April  8,  1895 
October  28, 1895 
December  13,  1897 
October  29, 1900 
November  14,  1904 
January  14,  1906 
October  7,  1907 
January  16, 191 1 
October  2,  191 1 
January  5,  1914 
April  17,  1916 
May  17,  1920 
January  24, 1921 
January  22, 1923 


April  2,  1877 
January  10, 1881 
January  15, 1883 
January  26,  1885 

February  6,  1888 
October  14, 1889 

March  30,  1891 
Februarj^  6,  1893 
March  5,  1894 
March  19,  1894 
Aprils,  1897 
October  3,  1898 


[     262    ] 


Papers  Rkad  Befork  the  Club 


Personal  Recollections  of  the  Early  Days  of  the  Club 

The  Romance  of  a  White  Rose  of  York 

V'erses  by  the  Shade  of  Omar  Khayyam 

The  Receiving  Ships  of  the  Navy  during  the  War  of  the 

Rebellion 
The  Marquis  de  la  Ensenada 

A  Gentleman  Adventurer  in  the  Days  of  the  Tudors 
The  CopperQuccnof  the  Mediterranean;  with  incidental 

reference  to  a  brave  but  foolish  knight  who  first  won 

and  then  sold  her:  being  the  story  of  the  island  of 

Cyprus 

Harry  Sigmund  Hyman 

Terra  Incognita 

Subiaco 

The  Modern  Babel 

Edward  Swift  I  sham 

Proudhon  as  a  Social  Phenomenon 
Tumulto  dei  Ciompi 
Pompey 

Louis  de  Buade,  Comte  de  Frontenac,  and  Miles  Stan- 
dish  in  the  Northwest 
Ethan  Allen:  a  Study  in  Civil  Authority 

Huntington  Wolcott  Jackson 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

Gettysburg 

Chancellorsville 


March  13,  1899 
April  23,  1900 
December  22,  1902 

February  16,  1903 
October  24, 1904 
January  28,  1906 


February  14,  1910 


November  12,  1917 
May  10,  1920 
May  5,  1924 


February  19,  1877 
February  3,  1879 
March  5,  1883 

November  30,  1885 
May  10, 1897 


March  17,  1879 
March  20, 1882 
October  20,  1884 


Augustus  Jacobson 

Birth  and  Training 
American  Problems 
The  Railroad  Question 

John  Alexander  Jameson 
Culture  and  Professional  Life 
Is  Our  Civilization  Perishable? 
The  Federation  of  the  World 

Edmund  Janes  James 

Municipal  Ownership  of  Public  Utilities 

The  Relation  of  the  Federal  Judiciary  to  the  Federal 

Legislative  Power 
Adventures  in  Spirit  Land  (not  very  serious) 

[  263  I 


October  7,  187 
May  15,  1882 
October  11, 18 


March  15,  1875 
January  14, 1884 
May  31,  1886 


February  2,  1903 

NLiy  9,  1904 
April  1 4, 1924 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


James  Clarke  Jeffery 

Some  Jumping-off  Places  of  the  Human  Mind 

Our  Hunting  Trip 

The  Extent  of  Our  Belief  in  the  So-called  Supra- normal 

The  Coming  of  the  Ice 


William  LeBaron  Jenney 

The  Fossils  of  History 

Personal  Reminiscences  of  Vicksburg 

An  Age  of  Steel 

Theodore  Jessup 

A  Journal  of  Civilization 

Starved  Rock  and  Its  Neighborhood 

A  Banking  Bugaboo;  the  Guaranty  of  Bank  Deposits 

Illinois  State  Parks 

Silvertail 

A  Valentine's  Day  Love  Story 

The  Everglades  Mystery  (Story) 

A  Review  of  Kane's  "Romance  and  Tragedy  of  Banking" 

James  Stewart  Jewell 

The  Present  Condition  of  the  Darwinian  Theory 

John  Nelson  Jewett 

Newspaper  Literature  (Conversation) 

The  Authority  of  Legislation  over  Private  Rights  and 

Private  Property  (Conversation) 
Are  We  Drifting?  (Conversation) 
The  Methods  and  Purposes  of  Public  Education 

Frank  Seward  Johnson 

Astrology 

The  Healing  Art  in  the  Past  and  the  Present 

Nervous  and  Mental  Influences  upon  Health 

Books  as  Pictures  of  the  Past 

The  Romance  of  Science 

The  Intrinsic  Potentials  of  Matter 

Beauty 

"What  Is  life?" — A  Continuation 

Human  Nature 

Herrick  Johnson 

The  Special  Demands  of  the  Country  upon  the  Edu- 
cated Men  of  This  Generation 
Fraternal  Relations   (Conversation) 
Thinkers  and  the  Risks  They  Run 

[     264    ] 


March  19, 1917 
November  19,  1917 
March  21,  1921 
January  16, 1922 


April  16,  1883 
December  14,  1885 
October  27,  1890 


November  18,  1901 
December  18,  1905 
May  17,  1915 
April  10, 1916 
May  20, 1918 
February  14,  1921 
October  30,  1922 
December  10, 1923 


October  i,  1877 


November  12,  1877 

January  3,  1881 
January  3, 1887 
May  21,  1888 


January  6, 1890 
May  3,  1897 
October  22,  1900 
February  6,  1905 
January  20, 1908 
May  9,  1910 
December  2,  191 2 
January  18, 1915 
January  22,  1917 


December  18,  iS 
November  12,  i^ 
February  7,  188; 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


Then  and  Now 

The  Imagination  in  Science  and  Religion 

The  Reformative  and  Retributive  Element  under  Law 

HosMER  Allen  Johnson 

Life:  What  Do  We  Know  about  It? 
Inaugural  Address  as  President 
Preventive  Medicine 
Mystery  in  Medicine  (Conversation) 
Medical  Memories 

James  Gibson  Johnson 

The  Scholar's  Debt 

A  Neglected  Chapter  of  Our  Colonial  History  (The 
Siege  ot  Louisburg) 

David  Benton  Jones 

Is  the  Despotic  Socialism  of  General  Booth  a  Safe  Way 

Out  of  Darkest  England? 
What  Is  There  in  the  Sunday  Question? 
The  Indecision  ot  Democracy 

Llewellyn  Jones 

Some  Unimported  Poetry 

Two  Utopias 

The  Poetic  Forms  Used  by  Whitman 

Recent  Poetry  and  Fiction 

Bishop  Wilson  of  Sodor  and  Man,  1 698-1 755 

Lascelles  Abercrombie:  Poet  and  Critic 

Thomas  Davies  Jones 

The  Relation  of  the  National  Executive  to  Congress 
The  Referendum 

Walter  Clyde  Jones 

Preparedness 

Edwin  Oak.es  Jordan 

The  Drainage  Canal  Case 

Harry  Pratt  Judson 

A  Wandering  Dutchman  of  the  XVIth  Century 

Walter  Scott 

What  Is  There  Left  of  International  Law? 

Persia 


January  30, 1888 
December  15,  1890 
February  19,  1894 


May  20,  1876 
June  24,  1876 
February  18,  1884 
April  18,  1887 
March  19,  1888 


November  14,  1892 
February  15,  1897 


March  9,  1 891 
December  19,  189: 
April  6,  1896 


February  21,  19 16 
November  13,  1916 
December  i,  1919 
March  15,  1920 
January  10, 1921 
April  7,  1924 


January  25,  1886 
April  4,  1892 


March  6,  191 6 


February  25, 1907 


March  9,  1908 
February  21, I910 
February  28, 1916 
February  9, 1920 


[  265  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Albert  Martin  Kales 

"Lady  Rose's  Daughter";  an  Appreciation 

Lines  on  a  Sunset  behind  Monadnock     - 

The  Will  of  an  English  Gentleman  of  Moderate  Fortune 


John  Davis  Kales 

Methods  Used  in  the  Development  of  Science 

Edson  Keith,  Jr. 

Voltaire  at  Ferney 

Elbridge  Gerry  Keith 

The  Relation  of  Education  to  Universal  Suffrage  (Con- 
versation) 
The  Fourth  of  July  and  Its  Observance  (Conversation) 
A  Business-Man's  Impressions  of  Silas  Lapham 
Business  in  the  Past 
A  Notable  National  Convention 

James  Peacock  Kelly 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

Arthur  Isaac  Kendall 

Ecuador 

Science,  Biology,  and  Religion 

Henry  Herbert  Kennedy 

Varieties  of  Peace 

William  Kent 

Scraps  from  the  Great  American  Frying  Pan 
Historical  Vignettes 
Res  Indigestse 

Shake:  Personal  Reminiscences  of  the  San  Francisco 
Earthquake 

Samuel  Humes  Kerfoot,  Jr. 
Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

Henry  William  King 

The  Administration  of  Public  Charity 

Joseph  Kirkland 

Travel  and  Travelers 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

[     266    ] 


April  27,  1903 
November  7, 1904 
March  19,  1906 


May  7,  1894 
December  4,  1893 


April  4,  1 88 1 
December  11,  1882 
January  4, 1886 
October  28,  1895 
March  10,  1902 


May  I,  1882 


October  23, 1922 
November  5,  1923 


January  14, 191 8 


December  3,  1900 
January  ii, 1904 
November  27,  1905 

November  26,  1906 


November  20,  1882 


March  15,  1886 


April  5,  1875 
December  6,  1875 
March  18,  1878 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

Chicago 

Protection  (Conversation) 

Personal  Acquaintance  with  Bryant 

What  to  Leave  Unsaid  in  Fiction 

The  Wreck  of  the  Pioneer 

The  Running  Fight 

The  Nicaragua  Canal 

Literary  Men  of  Chicago 

The  Wreck  of  the  Aguan 

The  Oo-garoo 

The  W'orld's  Congress  of  Cripples 

Theodore  W.  Koch 

Dante's  Life  and  Work  (Illustrated) 

Kaufman  Kohler 

Myths  and  Miracles 

Howard  Kretschmar 

Motives  and  Expression  in  Art 

John  Joseph  La  lor 

Population 

Bi-Metalism  (Conversation) 

An  Argument  for  Silver 

Edwin  Chaxning  Larned 

The  Influence  of  Modern  Fiction  (Conversation) 

Inaugural  Address  as  President 

The  Chicago  Fire  and  the  Relief  Work 

Walter  Cranston  Larned 
The  Devil  in  Literature 
Will  o'  the  Wisps 
No  Art  Without  the  Ideal:  no  Literature  Without  the 

Supernatural 
An  Impression  of  Jean  Franfois  Millet 
The   Myth  of  Siegfried  and  Wagner's  "Ring  of  the 

Nibelung" 
What  Was  the  Matter  with  Hamlet? 
The  Legend  of  the  Morte  d  Arthur  and  How  Tennyson 

Has  Used  It 
A  Night  in  Chinatown 
Michael  Angelo 
Modern  Landscape 
The  Spirit  and  Development  of  Nuremberg  Gothic 


October  21, 1878 
November  29,  1880 
May  14,  1883 
April  20,  1885 
October  25,  1886 
November  I4,  1887 
May  6,  1889 
November  2,  1891 
October  3, 1892 
November  7,  1892 
February  27,  1893 
November  13,  1893 


January  3, 1921 
October  19, 1874 
April  26,  1886 


November  20,  1876 
December  8,  1879 
March  15,  1880 


March  11,  1876 
October  3, 1881 
October  9,  1882 


March  4,  1875 
November  4,  1878 

January  30,  1882 
February  5,  1883 

May  26,  1884 
December  15,  1884 

Febuary  8, 1886 
January  9,  1888 
April  15,  1889 
February  24,  1890 
March  16,  i8qi 


[  167  1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Velasquez 

Some  Experiences  in  Southern  France  in  Winter 
The  Functions  of  the  Gentleman  of  Leisure 
Art  and  Scenery  in  Sicily 
The  Modern  School  of  Landscape  Painting 
New  Westminster  Cathedral  and  the  Wallace  Collection 
With  the  Roman  and  the  Goth  from  Southern  France  to 
Paris 

Sherwood  Johnston  Larned 
The  Dilletante 

Bryan  Lathrop 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 
Random  Recollections  of  the  Far  East 

Urban  Augustine  Lavery 
Revising  a  Constitution 

Charles  Burrall  Lawrence 

Inaugural  Address  as  President 
Gouverneur  Morris 

Albert  Lazenby 

Memorial  of  the  Late  Queen  Victoria 
George  Meredith,  Novelist  and  Sage 

Joseph  Bloomfield  Leake 
Observations  on  the  Common  Law 
Eastern  Highways 
The  Indian  Question  (Conversation) 
Address  on  the  Presentation  to  the  Club  by  Lawrence 

C.  Earle  of  a  Portrait  of  Charles  B.  Lawrence 
The  Weakness  of  the  Executive  Department  of  the 

State 
Recollections  of  a  Southern  Prison 
The  Yazoo  Claims 

Remarkable  Professional  Experiences 
Inaugural  Address  as  President 
The  Story  of  the  Christian  Indians 
The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  Internal 

Improvements 
Eastern  Highways,  Ancient  and  Modern 

Blewett  Lee 

Confederate  Lyrics 
Women  of  the  Confederacy 
The  Law  of  Aerial  Navigation 

[     268     ] 


November  28,  1892 
February  25, 1895 
May  25,  1896 
March  17,  1902 
November  23, 1903 
October  28, 1907 

January  3, 1910 


November  6, 1905 


May  19,  1879 
January  31, 18 


May  2,  1921 


June  21, 1875 
December  13,  1880 


January  28, 1901 
December  9, 1901 


March  18,  1876 
June  18, 1877 
February  20,  1882 

March  23, 1885 

May  10,  1886 
February  21,  1887 
January  15, 1894 
November  25,  1895 
October  4, 1897 
January  9,  1899 

May  20, 1 907 
February  27, 191 1 


April  13,  1896 
March  I4,  1898 
November  8, 1915 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


Edward  Thomas  Lee 

Characters  in  the  Rolitical  Life  of  Washington,  D.  C, 

1888-1894 
Are  Lawyers  Leaders  or  Followers  in  the  Lnprovement 

of  Society? 


Henry  Eduard  Legler 

The  Genesis  of  Poe's  "Raven" 

A  Forgotten  Poet  of  the  Last  Generation:  James  Gales 

Percival 
Of  Much  Love  and  Some  Knowledge  of  Books 
Parodies 

Walt  Whitman  Yesterday  and  Todav 
A  Bundle  of  Old  Chap-Books 
Richard  Hovey,  Poet 

Harvey  Brace  Lemon 

New  Vistas  of  Atomic  Structure 

Charles  Stanley  Lester 
The  Exposition  of  1889 

Edwin  Herbert  Lewis 

William  Vaughan  Moody 

The  Work  of  Tagore 

The  Work  of  Henry  Adams 

The  Arts   Here   Represented.     Inaugural  Address   as 

President 
Modern  Tendencies  in  Religion 
Books  of  the  Year  (Symposium) 

Leslie  Lewis 

Cahokia 

The  Trail  to  the  Great  Northwest 

How  Far  Should  Education  by  the  State  Be  Free? 

Memories  of  Boyhood  in  Early  Illinois 

The  Sudden  Awakening  of  the  Northwest 

The  Influence  of  Illinois  in  Early  National  Legislation 

Reminiscences  of  Early  Members  of  the  Club 

Arthur  Little 

The  Supernatural  in  Art 

Divorce  (Conversation) 

The  Secular  Value  of  Christian  Missions 


Charles  Joseph  Little 
Abraham  a  Santa  Clara 


February  12, 1916 
February  23,  1 920 

March  21,  1910 

February  13,  191 1 
April  I,  1912 
May  27,  191 2 
January  20,  1913 
November  2,  191 4 
February  14, 19 16 

November  27, 1922 

May  12,  1890 


November  4,  1912 
January  15,  1917 
April  28,  1919 

October  6, 1919 
January  26, 1920 
December  5,  1921 


June  6,  1887 
January  28, 1901 
February  22, 1904 
May  23,  1910 
February  20,  191 1 
April  7,  I913 
May  26, 1 91 9 


June  7,  1880 
April  9,  1883 
March  28,  1887 


May  I,  1893 


[  269  ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Karl  Marx  and  His  Theories 

Ibsen's  Women 

Ibsen  Compared  with  Sophocles  and  Shakespeare 

The  Women  of  Dante's  Commedia 

John  Milton 

Walter  Lichtenstein 

A  Book-Buyer  in  South  America 
The  Present  Banking  Situation 

Henry  Demarest  Lloyd 

The  Cure  of  Vanderbiltism 

The  Political  Economy  of  Fifteen  Millions 

Too  Much  of  Everything 

A  Conservative  View  of  the  Labor  Movement 

The  Need  of  the  Hour 

The  Wit  and  Humor  of  Emerson 

A  Day  with  William  Morris 

The  Scholar  in  Politics 

Edwin  Lyman  Lobdell 

The  Business  Depression  and  Some  of  Its  Causes 
Impressions  of  Siberia  and  Russia 

Clinton  Locke 
As  Others  See  Us 
The  Cardinal  Statesman 

Leaving  the  United  States  and  Going  to  Jersey 
The  Making,  Giving,  and  Receiving  of  Taffy.      Inau- 
gural Address  as  President 
The  Need  of  the  Hour 
A  Royal  Liar 
Don  John  of  Austria 
Apocrypha,  Newly  Discovered 
An  Acrostic  on  His  Own  Name 
How  a  Christian  Can  Be  an  Evolutionist 

Frank  Joseph  Loesch 

A  Study  in  Human  Nature 

The  Literary  or  Educational  Value  of  Supreme  Court 

Decisions 
A  Search  for  a  Husband  and  a  Dower;  Another  Study  in 

Human  Nature 
Suggestions    for   Securing    Additional    City   Breathing 

Spaces 
The  European  War 
Lyman  Trumbull 


February  ii, 1894 
March  30,  1896 
December  14,  1903 
May  13,  1907 
December  7,  1908 


May  5,  1919 
December  13, 1920 


January  12, 1880 
April  10, 1882 
April  14,  1884 
November  3,  1890 
April  18,  1892 
May  27,  1895 
December  7,  1896 
January  17, 1898 


March  22,  1915 
December  4,  1916 


November  16,  1885 
January  18,  1886 
November  28,  1887 

October  12, 1891 
April  18,  1892 
January  16, 1893 
June  10, 1895 
January  24,  1898 
April  I,  1901 
December  23,  1901 


March  28,  1910 

October  10,  1910 

April  8,  1912 

January  12, 1914 
October  19,  1914 
Aprils,  1915 


[     270    ] 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


World  Politics 
Labrador 

Daniel  Miner  Lord 

Some  Fallacies  Relating  to  the  White  Squadron 

Herbert  Ivory  Lord 
The  Literature  of  Commerce 

Frank  Orrin  Lowden 

Modern  Realism  and  Ancient  Epicureanism 

Charles  Doak  Lowry 

The  House  Boat  People  of  the  Ohio  River 

The  Cruise  of  the  Double  Ell 

A  Wagon  Trip  among  the  Wisconsin  Lakes 

East  Tennessee  from  a  Flat-boat 

The  Biography  of  a  Village 

The  Life  Is  More  than  Meat  (Story) 

World  Politics 

The  Romance  of  Commonplace  Things 

Tests  of  Musical  Talent 

David  Brainerd  Lyman 

Hawaii,  the  Faded  Kingdom 
The  Taxation  of  Church  Property 

Francis  Ogden  Lyman 
Hawaiian  Volcanoes 

Henry  Munson  Lyman 

A  Vacation  for  the  Brain 

Samuel  Adams  Lynde 

The  Manorial  Estates  in  New  York  and  Their  Disso- 
lution 

William  Macdonell 

Wordsworth 
Utilitarianism 

Nathan  William  MacChesney 

The  Romance  of  Illinois 
French  Contribution  to  American  Life 
The  Administration  of  Woodrow  Wilson 
The  Military  Policy  of  the  United  States 


February  1 1,  iyi8 
November  17,  19 19 


January  12, 1903 
November  6,  1905 
January  6, 1896 


November  6,  190^ 
November  12,  1906 
November  22, 1909 
February  5,  191 2 
April  28, 1913 
November  27,  1916 
February  11,  191 8 
December  9, 1918 
November  24,  1919 


November  28, 1898 
January  18, 1904 


April  3,  1882 
June  7,  1886 

May  24, 1897 


October  18,  1875 
February  4, 1878 


May  I,  1911 
February  23,  191 4 
February  i,  1915 
November  12,  1917 


[     271     J 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Julian  William  Mack 

Gerhart  Hauptmann's  drama  "Einsame  Menschen" 

Franklin  MacVeagh 

Political  Education  (Conversation) 
Matthew  Arnold 
Marquette 

A  Literary  View  of  the  Political  Situation 
A  Business  View  of  Classical  Studies 
New  Invasions  by  the  Barbarians 
Inevitable  National  Expansion 
Some  Reflections  on  the  Future  of  Riches 
.  Inaugural  Address  as  President 

Edgar  Madden 

Franklin's  Correspondence 
The  Louisiana  Purchase 

Benjamin  Drake  Magruder 
The  Chinese  Question  (Conversation) 

Edward  Manley 

The  Birthplace  of  Carl  Schurz 
Fabre,  the  Literary  Artist 

George  Linn^us  Marsh 

The  Cult  of  the  Short  Story 
Cockney  Poets  and  Their  Critics 

Thomas  BpCunton  Marston 

The  United  States  in  the  Far  East 

Horace  Hawes  Martin 

The  Curiosities  of  Pro-Slavery  Literature 
The  Reading  of  Minor  Biography 
American  Literary  Criticism 

Alfred  Bishop  Mason 

Public  and  Private  Charities:  Their  Uses  and  Abuses 

(Conversation) 
The  Abolition  of  Poverty 
Inside  Politics 

A  Man  and  His  Money:  a  Moral  Novelette 
A  Talk  with  Porfirio  Diaz 

Arthur  John  Mason 

Impressions  of  an  Englishman  Returning  after  Thirty 
Years'  Life  in  the  United  States 


May  17, 1897 


May  16,  1881 
December  i,  1884 
October  26,  1885 
January  24, 1887 
December  5,  1887 
October  28,  1895 
October  31, 1898 
February  8, 1904 
October  i,  1906 


December  22,  1884 
January  12, 1891 


February  10, 1879 


February  24,  191 9 
February  26, 1923 


April  7,  1 91 9 
March  13, 1922 


March  27,  1 S 


April  II,  1898 
February  11,  1901 
May  28,  1906 


May  13,  1876 
October  2, 1876 
December  9, 187 
April  4, 1 88 1 
May  19, 1902 


January  22,  1912 


[     272     ] 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


A  Day's  Work 

Some  Studies  on  Crops  by  a  Non-Farmer 

Is  the  United  States  a  Permanent  Coimtry  like  North 

Europe? 
Comments  of  an  Ore  Engineer  on  the  Coal  Situation 

Edward  Gay  Mason 

Arthur  Hugh  Clough 

Inaugural  Address  as  President 

Old  Fort  Chartres 

A  Visit  to  South  Carolina  in  i860 

As  Others  See  Us 

The  March  of  the  Spaniards  across  Illinois 

Two  Men  of  Letters  (Edmund  Spenser  and  Sir  Walter 

Raleigh) 
The  Nile  Land 

Reminiscences  of  the  Early  Days  of  the  Club 
A  Chapter  from  a  History  of  Illinois 

Hexry  Burrall  Mason 
An  Old  Picture 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 
Railroad  Oracles 
The  Law's  Delays 
A  Race  for  Love  and  Liberty 
Childish  Recollections  of  Chicago 
Glimpses  of  Cape  Cod 

RoswELL  Henry  Mason 

Among  the  Florida  Keys 

Edgar  Lee  Masters 

American  Standards  and  Character 
Robert  Browning  as  a  Philosopher 

William  Mathews 
Thomas  DeQuincey 
Sainte-Beuve 
Style 
Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

Herman  Lewis  Matz 

As  Others  See  Us  (Conversation) 
A  Literary  Thanksgiving  Dinner 

Rudolph  Matz 
Incidents  of  Travel 

[     273    ] 


January  27,  1913 
February  5,  1917 

April  26,  1920 
April  II,  1 92 1 


March  i,  1875 
June  24, 1878 
March  30,  1880 
November  5,  1883 
November  16,  1885 
November  23,  1885 

April  30,  1888 
May  23,  1892 
March  19,  1894 
December  30,  1895 


March  6,  1876 
February  16, 1880 
March  13,  1882 
January  7, 1884 
June  I,  1891 
February  20, 1893 
December  10,  1894 


May  25,  1891 


November  20,  191 1 
November  18,  191 2 


November  3,  1874 
February  5, 1877 
February  17, 1879 
April  20,  1880 


November  16,  1885 
November  25,  1901 


October  19, 1896 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


William  Andrew  McAndrew 

English  Comedy  Convalescent 

George  Martin  McBean 

Hygiene  for  the  Middle-Aged 

Ezra  Butler  McCagg 

Literary  Men  in  Politics  (Conversation) 

What  Knowledge  Is  of  Most  Worth?  (Conversation) 

Adelard  of  Bath 


James  Gore  King  McClure 

The  Influence  of  England's  First  Library 

Dreams  and  Dreamers 

America's  Apostle  of  Toleration — Roger  Williams 

The  Power  of  Personality  in  the  Teacher 

How  a  Silver  Dollar  Looks  to  a  Numismatist 

The  Scholar's  Attitude  toward  the  Past 

The  Autobiography  of  a  Dining  Table 

Equal  to  the  Occasion 

Alexander  Caldwell  McClurg 

A  Decisive  Battle  and  Its  Untold  Story 

Address  on  the  Presentation  to  the  Club  by  Walter 

Cranston  Earned  of  a  Portrait  of  Edwin  C.  Earned 
International  Copyright 
Inaugural  Address  as  President 
An  American  Soldier — Minor  Milliken 
The  United  States  Volunteers:  Why  We  Enlisted  and 

How  We  Went  to  the  Front 

Osbourne  McConathy 

The  Value  of  Music  to  the  Community 

Samuel  Parsons  McConnell 
The  Labor  Question 

What  Ought  to  Be  the  Limitation  to  Majority  Govern- 
ment? (Conversation) 
Men  as  Witnesses 

Cyrus  Hall  McCormick 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 
The  Hawaiian  Islands 
Russia 

Surprises  in  Sardis:  A  Vacation  Trip  to  North  Africa  and 
Asia  Minor  (Illustrated) 


May  1 8,  1891 


April  25,  1 92 1 


April  9,  1877 
March  11,  187! 
March  7,  1881 


January  28,  1889 
February  2,  1891 
March  7,  1892 
February  13,  1893 
October  26, 1896 
January  20, 1902 
April  18,  1904 
November  19,  1906 


May  29,  1882 

March  23,  1885 
March  29,  1886 
October  4, 1886 
December  8,  1890 

December  6,  1897 


November  24,  1919 


April  6,  1880 

March  12,  18: 
May  2,  1887 


February  25,  1884 
May  19,  1890 
November  5,  1917 

January  8, 1923 


[     ^74    ] 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


Parmalee  John  McFadde>j 

The  Influence  of  Environment 
The  Making  of  Books 

BuELL  McKeever 

The  Spirit  World 

A  Review  of  "DcV'cre,  or  the  Man  of  Independence,"  by 
Robert  Piummer  Ward 

Kenneth  McKenzie 
Dante  and  Italian  Politics 

Andrew  Cunningham  McLaughlin 

Anne  Hutchinson,  the  First  American  Feminist 

A  Chapter  in  American  Literary  History:    Publicists 

and  Orators,  1 800-1 850 
The  Last  Phases  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine 
The  War  in  Retrospect 
Some  Reflections  on  the  American  Revolution 

William  Gordon  McMillan 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

Simon  John  McPherson 

John  Scotus  Erigena 

Calvinism  in  Education 

What  Is  the  Essential  Element  in  Religion? 

Charles  Patrick  Megan 
The  Dead  Hand 

Henry  Payson  Merriam 

The  Value  of  Mental  Impressions  in  the  Treatment  ot 
Disease 

LoRiNG  Wilbur  Messer 

Sociological  Forces  in  Action 

Fundamental  Religious  Truths  Applied  to  Life 

Edwin  Lillie  Miller 

Chicago;  by  Juvenal,  Jr. 

A  Twentieth  Century  Chaucer 

Robert  Burns,  a  drama 

Henry  Giles  Miller 

The  Silver  Question 

The  Silver  Legislation  of  1890 


April  4,  1898 
March  25,  1901 


February  26,  1906 
March  14,  1910 

January  3,1921 

December  20,  191 5 

November  20,  191 6 
April  29,  191 8 
May  17,  1920 
January  30, 1922 

June  14,  1880 


March  16,  1885 
April  23,  1888 
January  27,  1891 


November  26,  1923 


February  24,  i  i 


March  20,  1 899 
December  5,  1904 


October  15,  1900 
March  28,  1904 
January  22, 1906 


November  2,  1885 
January  5, 1891 


[  175  1 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


James  Alexander  Miller 
The  Labor  Question 
The  Rights  of  Labor 

John  Stocker  Miller 

Something  of  the  Romantic  in  Litigation 

John  Stocker  Miller,  Jr. 

Poems 

The  Influence  and  Results  of  Whitman's  Work 
Sir  William  Herschel 
Around  the  Fireside 

Thomas  George  Milsted 

The  Origin  and  Meaning  of  the  Names  We  Bear 

Charles  Wellington  Minard 
The  Corsairs  of  the  Temple 

Beveridge  Harshaw  Moore 

Modern  Tendencies  in  Religion 
The  I 'is  a  Tergo 

Louis  Celestin  Monin 

Reminiscences  of  a  German  Student 
The  Life  and  Work  of  Gottfried  Keller 
The  Man  Within 

Frank  Hugh  Montgomery 

Light  as  a  Therapeutic  Agent 

Henry  Crittenden  Morris 

Contrasts  in  Books 
The  Flemish  Chambers  of  Rhetoric 
A  Fortnight  in  Greece 

The  Search   for  a  Sea:  a  Prelude  to  the  Conquest  of 
the  Pacific 

Harold  Nicholas  Moyer 
The  Mendelian  Theory 
The  Freudian  Doctrine  and  Its  Limitations 
Dreams 

The  Submerged  Literary  Complex 
Hygiene  for  the  Middle-Aged 
"Be  Fruitful  and  Multiply  and  Replenish  the  Earth"  — 


Gen.  I  :  28 


Drink 


April  2,  1906 
March  29,  1909 


March  18,  1918 


November  3,  1919 
December  i,  1919 
October  25,  1920 
January  7,  1924 


December  10,  i8i 
January  15,  1906 


January  26,  1920 
February  5,  1923 


November  10,  1902 
March  5,  1906 
December  16,  1907 


May  16,  1904 


February  6,  1905 
November  29,  1909 
December  4,  191 1 

January  25, 1915 


March  10,  1913 
May  10,  1915 
November  22,  191 5 
April  14,  1919 
April  25,  1921 

May  9,  1921 
May  22,  1922 


[  276  ] 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


MuRRY  Nelson 

The  Duties  and  Responsibilities  of  the  Citizen  to  the 

City  (Conversation) 
Corners  (Conversation) 
As  Others  See  Us 
The  Gangs  in  Politics  (Conversation) 


MuRRY  Nelson,  Jr. 

The  Untold  Story  of  a  Revolutionary  Soldier 

William  Wilson  Kirchhofer  Nixon 
1492 — An  Historical  Sketch 

James  Sager  Norton 

Edited  and  read  an    "Informal,"  including  The   Old 

Story,  a  poem 
George  Washington 
The  Relation    of  the  Legal  Profession  to  the  Public 

(Conversation) 
A  Portion  of  the  Old  Testament  Rewritten 
The  Confessions  of  a  Millionaire 
What  Was  the  Matter  with  Hamlet? 
Inaugural  Address  as  President 
The  Press  (Conversation) 
The  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Devil 
Some   Proposed   Rules   for   the   Regulation    of  Story 

Tellers 
A  Trip  to  the  Nipigon 
Mr.  Jones'  Experiment 
The  Coming  Literary  Man 

George  Clement  Noyes 

Immigration  (Conversation) 

The  Legal  Prohibition  of  the  Liquor  Traffic 

Inaugural  Address  as  President 

Horace  Sweeney  Oakley 

The  Franciscan  Missions  of  California 

John  O'Connor 

The  Spirit  of  Modern  Criminal  Reform 

Hugh  Robert  Orr 

Forbidden  Fruit 

Sonnets  of  Beauty  and  Disillusionment 

[  ^77  ] 


February  14,  188 1 
February  12,  1883 
November  16,  i88( 
January  23, 1888 


February  14,  li 


May  5,  1890 


November  6,  1876 
February  18, 1877 

February  11, 1878 
May  19,  1879 
October  30, 1882 
December  15,  1884 
October  5,  1885 
February  i,  1886 
January  31, 1887 

April  9,  1888 
May  27,  1889 
May  2,  1892 
October  3, 1892 


February  11,  1884 
October  12,  1885 
October  10,  1887 


April  30,  1900 
March  2,  1914 


February  20,  1922 
October  15,  1923 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Hartwell  Osborn 

The  Twentieth  Army  Corps  with  Sherman  from  Atlanta 

to  the  Sea 
Sherman's  Carolina  Campaign 
The  Eleventh  Army  Corps 
Sherman's  Atlanta  Campaign 
The  Eleventh  Army  Corps  in  East  Tennessee 
An  Unknown  German  Patriot 


Louis  Shreve  Osborne 

Socialism 

Summer  Saunterings  in  Scotland 

Roy  Clifton  Osgood 

Hilltown  Journalism 
Lawyers 

Ephraim  Allen  Otis 

The  English  Constitution  (Conversation) 
From  Corinth  to  Perr>'ville  in  1862 
The  Government  of  Great  Cities 
Aaron  Burr  and  His  Alleged  Treason 
The  Nashville  Campaign 

John  Nash  Ott 

Anatole  France 
Giordano  Bruno 
The  Einstein  Theory 

George  Packard 

Thomas  Love  Peacock 

Glimpses  of  David  Garrick 

A  Matter  of  Motive  (Story) 

Amid  the  Whistling  of  Evil  Birds  (Story) 

The  Letters  of  Henryk  Ibsen 

Some  Observations  on  the  Adventurous  Life  ot  a  Men- 
dacious Mendicant — Father  Louis  Hennepin 

The  Lawyers  of  Dickens 

A  Canadian  Kipling 

Prejudice  and  the  New  Emancipation 

The  Administration  of  Justice  in  the  I-ake  Michigan 
Wilderness 

Poems 

An  Imperative  Duty  for  American  Citizenship.  Inau- 
gural Address  as  President 

Poems 

[     278     ] 


October  15,  1906 
October  26,  1908 
November  15,  1909 
December  5,  1910 
November  11,  1912 
May  25,  1914 


November  9,  iS 
November  5,  il 


February  19, 1917 
April  18,  1920 


March  8,  1880 
March  12,  1888 
March  3,  1890 
November  19,  1894 
January  10, 1898 


February  25,  191 8 
May  16,  1920 
April  9, 1923 


March  8,  1897 
February  6,  1899 
February  4,  1901 
March  13, 1905 
March  5,  1906 

April  27,  1908 
November  6,  191 1 
May  27,  1912 
April  27,  1914 

March  i,  191 5 
March  5,  1917 

October  7,  1918 
November  3, 1919 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


Are  Lawyers  Leaders  or  Followers  in  the  Improvement 

of  Society? 
The  Humanism  of  William  Dean  Howclls 
Some  Modernistic  Fiction  from  the  Middle  West 
A  Consideration  of  Some  Contemporaneous  Plays 


George  Laban  Paddock. 

Historic  Periods  in  European  Culture 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

The  Source  and  Tendency  of  American  Patriotism 

Chicago  and  the  Fair 

Remarkable  Professional  Experiences 

The  Education  of  the  American  Citizen:  Some  General 

Remarks  as  to  the  Historic  Basis 
George  Washington,  President  and  Commander-in-Chief 

of  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States 
Inaugural  Address  as  President 
The  Two  American  Diplomacies 
The  Method  of  Public  Power  and  Personal  Responsibility 

Herman  Page 

The  Church  and  Social  Service 

Francis  Warner  Parker 

The  Spirit  of  Invention 
The  Land  of  Lost  Causes 
The  Great  American  Ruin 

Robert  Henry  Parkinson 

An  Unconscious  Emancipator:  Cyrus  H.  McCormick,  Sr. 

Newton  Augustus  Partridge 

Little  Journeys 

Line  upon  Line:  Gems  Extracted  from  Legal  Decisions 

John  Clorey  Patterson 

Something  about  American  Humorists 

Robert  Wilson  Patterson,  Jr. 

John  Wise,  the  First  Great  American  Democrat 

William  Morton  Payne 

The  Molicre  of  the  North  (Ludwig  Holberg) 
American  Literary  Criticism,  or  the  Doctrine  of  Evo- 
lution 


February  23,  1920 
January  31,  1921 
November  21,  192 1 
February  1 1,  1924 


April  7,  1879 
October  23, 1882 
April  28,  1884 
April  12,  1886 
P'ebruary  25,  1889 
March  19,  1894 
November  25,  1895 

November  2,  1896 

October  17, 1898 
October  9,  1899 
November  4,  1901 
November  16,  1903 


November  5,  1906 


February  17,  1913 
May  22,  1916 
April  12,  1920 


February  10, 1902 


January  15, 1900 
March  7,  1904 


February  21,  1876 

December  i,  1879 

October  11, 1897 
November  6,  1899 


[     279    ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


The  Poetry  of  Mr.  Swinburne 
Literary  Criticism  in  the  United  States 
Personal   Reminiscences    of   Shakespearean   Perform- 
ances in  Chicago 
A  Quarter  Century  of  English  Literature 
Abraham  Lincoln 

A  Stoico-Epicurean  Adiaphorist:  Henry  David  Thoreau 
Books  of  the  Year  (Symposium) 

Peter  and  the  Primrose.  Inaugural  address  as  President 
Poems 
"The  first  Lord  in  the  yunited  States  of  Amercay" 

Selim  Hobart  Peabody 

Utilitarianism  in  -Education 
The  Mission  of  the  Sunbeam 
Some  Lessons  of  the  Great  Exposition 

George  Record  Peck 

Wordsworth 

James  Harvey  Peirce 

Normals  and  Eccentrics  of  the  Patent  Office 
Out  Icelandic  Kinsmen  and  Their  Commonwealth 
An  Icelandic  Scholar  of  the  Twelfth  Century 
Some  Modern  Aladdins 

Abram  Morris  Pence 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

The  Conditions  and  Prospects  of  Protestantism  (Con- 
versation) 

Trial  by  Jury  (Conversation) 

The  Law  and  the  Lady:  a  Tale  of  Two  Continents 

The  Evolution  of  the  Federal  Constitution  and  State 
Socialism 

DwiGHT  Heald  Perkins 

Shop  Talk  and  Its  Relation  to  Thought 
A  Metropolitan  Park  System  for  Chicago 

Norman  Carolan  Perkins 
Socialism  in  Chicago 

William  Ferdinand  Petersen 
The  Other  Side 

William  Jacob  Petrie 

A  Student  of  Comparative  Theology  Two  Hundred  Years 

.  Ago  _ 

Cicero's  Obligations  lo  Greek  Writers 
Mysticism 

[     ^80    ] 


March  2,  1903 
April  25,  1904 

April  23,  1906 
November  25,  1907 
February  15, 1909 
March  22,  1909 
December  19,  1910 
October  2,  191 1 
March  5,  1917 
February  10,  1919 


April  14,  1879 
January  11,  1892 
April  9,  1894 

May  30,  1898 


March  2,  1885 
March  21,  189 1 
October  21,  1895 
March  4,  1901 


April  I,  1876 

March  6,  1882 
February  i,  1889 
October  24,  1898 

October  26, 1903 


December  15,  1902 
October  17,  1904 


January  5,  1880 
April  28,  1924 


May  6,  1876 
November  9,  1891 
January  6, 1902 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


Clement  Knowles  Pittman 

The  Effect  of  Present  Immigration  upon  American  Con- 
ditions Considered  Both  Sociologically  and  Biologi- 
cally 


March  2, 1914 


Allen  Bartlit  Pond 

An  Essay  in  Criticism;  wherein  is  an  argument  setting 
forth  (showing  up)  the  true  relationship  of  Poetry 
and  Prose 

An  Invocation  to  the  Muses;  wherein  is  a  petition  that 
said  Muses  take  up  their  abode  in  Chicago  with  rea- 
sons for  such  change  of  base 

Books  that  Have  Not  Helped  Me 

Why  James  Watson  Never  Married  (Story) 

Where  Moses  Stood 

The  Last  Expression  of  Art  (Preface  to  the  Catalogue 
of  "An  Expose  of  Exceptional  Expressionism") 

Trades  Unionism  (Conversation) 

A  Gospel  of  Beauty 

Recent  Poetry  (Conversation) 

The  Day  of  Small  Things 


March  24,  1890 


March  24,  1890 
January  4, 1892 
January  4,  1892 
April  16,  1894 

February  28,  1898 
March  12,  1900 
May  28,  1900 
December  16,  1901 
March  8,  1909 


Irving  Kane  Pond 

A  Strange  Fellow  November  1 1,  1889 

The  Mystery  of  the  Light  (Story)  March  2,  1891 

A  AL-itter  ofTaste  March  6,  1893 

The  Pleasures  of  Travel  April  16,  1894 

Can  Achitecture  Become  Again  a  Living  Art?  December  23,  1895 

The  Poetry  of  Motion;  and  Other  Matters  October  30,  1899 
A  Few  Melancholy  Reflections  and  Lively  Anticipations 

of  Misdeeds  to  Come  January  2,  1905 

A  Side  Light  on  Architecture  •  May  14,  1906 

Art  and  the  Expression  of  Individuality  March  13,  191 1 

About  Two  Hours  (Facetious  Address)  May  27,  1912 

An  Ancient  Principle  and  a  Modern  Application  March  17,  1913 

Confusion  of  Mind  October  6,  1913 

Architecture:  Its  Origin  and  Illusions  November  9,  1914 

Poems  March  5,  1917 

Here  Lies  the  Way  March  4,  1918 

"The  Stones  of  Venice"  December  15,  1919 
Art  in  a  Straight-jacket.  Inaugural  Address  as  President      October  9,  1922 

A  Day  under  the  Big  Top:  a  Study  in  Life  and  Art  January  21,  1924 


Charles  Clarence  Poole 
The  Inventive  Faculty 


[     281     ] 


January  13, 1902 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


William  Frederick  Poole 

The  Origin  and  Secret  History  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787 
The  Opportunities  of  the  Man  of  Means  and  Leisure 

(Conversation) 
The  Mission  and  Function  of  Public  Libraries 
Inaugural  Address  as  President 
Witchcraft  (Conversation) 
Mr.  Bancroft  and  the  Ordinance  of  1787 
Some  Matters  Relating  to  the  Early  Northwest 
The  Literary  Character  of  the  Columbus  Family 
Columbus  as  a  Discoverer  and  as  a  Man  (Conversation) 
Our  Modern  Education  and  the  University  Curriculum 

Louis  Freeland  Post 

The  Prophet  of  San  Francisco 

A  Non-ecclesiastical  Confession  of  Religious  Faith 

Despotism  vs.  Democracy 

The  Morey  Letter,  an  Incident  of  the  Garfield  Cam- 
paign 

The  State  Control  of  Railways 

Newspaper  English 

At  the  Crack  of  a  Boss's  Whip;  a  Personal  Experience 
in  the  Politics  of  Old  New  York 

A  Carpet-Bagger  in  South  Carolina 

Horatio  Nelson  Powers 
Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 
Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

Sartell  Prentice 

The  Influence  of  Locality 

Keith  Preston 

Literary  Levities 

Theodore  Philander  Prudden 

Life  in  a  New  England  Town  in  the  Seventeenth  Century 

Eugene  Ernst  Prussing 

Some  Personal  Reminiscences  of  Edwin  Burritt  Smith 

Carl  Schurz 

Chicago's  First  Great  Lawsuit;    Forsyth  and   Kinzie 

vs.  Jeffro  Nast 
The  Art  of  Advocacy 


William  Henry  Ray 

Russia  in  Asia 


April  19,  1B75 

May  14,  1877 
November  11,  18" 
October  6, 1879 
April  17,  1882 
May  28,  1883 
February  4,  1889 
October  3,  1892 
October  24, 1892 
November  27,  i8( 


November  17,  1902 
December  5,  1904 
April  2,  1906 

October  22, 1906 
November  23,  1908 
January  9,  191 1 

March  3,  191 3 
April  16, 1917 


December  7,  1874 
October  4,  1875 


February  5, 1894 


April  16, 1923 


March  10, 1890 


May  28,  1906 
April  19,  1909 

November  16,  1914 
January  3, 191 6 


March  22,  1886 


[    282    ] 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


Henry  Warren  Raymond 

The  History  of  a  Miniature  Republic  (San  Marino) 
Hark!  from  the  Tombs 

Charles  Bert  Reed 

The  Venereal  Peril 

The  Lords  of  the  North 

The  First  CJreat  Canadian,  Pierre  Le    Moyne,  Sieur 

d'Iberville 
Waboos;  a  Forest  Idyll 

An  Ojibway  Legend 

The  Beatification  of  the  Novice  (Story) 

Toxiemia  as  a  Stimulus  in  Literature 

The  Orientation  of  Waboosons 

The  Beaver  Club 

The  Curse  ot  Cahaba 

Inaugural  Address  as  President 

Albrecht  von  Haller 

Eleanor  of  Aquitaine 

Poems 

Utopia  and  Life 

Ubi  Leones  Erunt 

Jiminido 

Duke 

Survivals 

The  Guardian  of  Gargantua 

Alexander  Frederick  Reichmann 
The  State  of  the  Nation  (Conversation) 

William  Lee  Richardson 

The  Letters  of  Keats 
Thomas  Hardy 

William  Charles  Roberts 

The  Hebrew  Literature 

Carl  Bismarck  Roden 

Literary  Stragglers  and  Strugglers  in  Early  Chicago 
What  a  Librarian  Thinks  About 
Pennsylvany-Dutch 

George  Mills  Rogers 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 


January  7, 1878 
March  1 4,  1881 


February  24,  1908 
May  II,  1908 

April  5,  1909 
January  17,  igioand 
January  24, 1910 
May  22,  191 1 
May  29,  191 1 
February  12,  191 2 
April  29,  1912 
February  10,  1913 
October  13, 1913 
October  5,  19 14 
March  15,  191 5 
January  31, 1916 
March  5,  1917 
March  26,  1917 
February  4,  1918 
January  17,  1921, 
April  24,  1922 
October  16, 1922 
November  12,  1923 


May  29,  191 6 


December  19,  1921 
December  3,  1923 


April  16,  I  i 


April  21,  1919 
December  6,  1920 
March  6,  1922 


April  23,1883 


[    283    ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Joseph  Martin  Rogers 

Engraving 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

Frederick  Woodman  Root 

An  American  Basis  of  Musical  Criticism 

A  Study  of  Musical  Taste 

The  Need  of  the  Hour 

The  Resources  of  Musical  Expression 

The  Real  American  Music  (Illustrated) 

The  Voice  in  Song  and  Speech 

Inaugural  Address  as  President 

The  Story  of  Alice  in  Words  and  Tones:  a  new  excursion 
into  the  domain  of  musical  expression 

Peter  Iljitsch  Tschaikowsky 

Nothing  in  Particular  (After-dinner  speech) 

Lowell  Mason 

Bill  Nye 

Confessions  of  an  Intruder 

Nominations  of  Members  of  The  Chicago  Literary  Club 
for  Eminent  Positions  in  Washington,  D.C.  (After- 
dinner  speech) 

The  Humor  and  Sparkle  of  Song 

John  Wellborn  Root 

The  Art  of  Abstract  Color 
Idealism  and  Realism  in  Art 
Broad  Art  Criticism 
A  Great  Architectural  Problem 

Julius  Rosenthal 

The  German  Citizen  in  America  (Conversation) 

The  Widow's  Mite 

The  Law  Institute  Library 

Lessing  Rosenthal 
Some  General  Reflections 
Books  of  the  Year  (Symposium) 

Are  Lawyers  Leaders  or  Followers  in  the  Improvement' 
of  Society? 

James  Boyer  Runnion 

The  Recent  Drama 

William  Henry  Ryder 

The  American  Public  School  (Conversation) 


March  i,  1886 
March  14,  1892 


November  22,  1886 
November  25,  1889 
April  18,  1892 
November  11,  1895 
October  25, 1897,  and 
November  29,  1897 
October  23, 1899 
October  10, 1904 

February  5, 1906 
November  30,  1908 
October  2,  191 1 
November  27,  191 1 
May  27,  1912 
March  31,  1913 


October  6, 1913 
November  30,  1914 


March  19,  1883 
January  19, 1885 
December  12,  1887 
February  10, 1890 


May  II,  1885 
May  9, 1892 
February  6,  1905 


May  12,  1902 
May  27,  1918 

February  23, 1920 


May  17,  1880 


December  11,  1876 


[     284    ] 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


Martin  Antoine  Rversov 

Sicily 

Coucy  le  Chateau 

William  McIntire  Salter 

George  Eliot's  Views  of  Religion 

Emerson  and  His  Views  on  Reform 

William  Morris 

Walt  Whitman 

Heine;  a  Soldier  in  the  Liberation  of  Humanity 

Emerson's  Attitude  towards  Social  Reform 

Mr.  Bernard  Shaw  as  a  Social  Critic 

Victor  Channing  Sanborn 

An  Unforgiven  Puritan — Rev.  Stephen  Batchellor 
A  Boy's  Glimpse  of  Whitman 

Carlos  Pomeroy  Sawyer 
Daniel  Webster  as  a  Lawyer 

John  James  Schobinger 

Glaciers  and  Climate 
Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 
Improvements  in  Educational  Methods 
Getting  an  Education 

Arthur  Pearson  Scott 
The  American  Indian  in  Fiction 

Frank  Hamline  Scott 

Through  Arizona  on  Horseback 
The  Grand  Canon  of  the  Colorado 
George  Rogers  Clarke 
In  the  Province  of  Tusayan 

Moses  Lewis  Scudder,  Jr. 
Method  in  Political  Economy 
The  Transportation  Question 
Congested  Prices 
Social  Control  for  Everything 
Competition  and  Charity 
Fallacies  for  which  Men  Have  Died 
Some  Recollections  of  the  Early  Meetings  and  Early 
Members  of  the  Club 


December  12,  1898 
November  21, 1904 


April  I,  1889 
November  17,  1890 
November  i,  1897 
November  21,  1898 
November  1 1,  1901 
May  25,  1903 
November  4,  1907 


December  14,  1908 
December  i,  1919 


March  I,  1909 


April  16,  1877 
November  26,  1883 
April  27,  1896 
January  29,  1900 


October  24, 1921 


March  13,  1893 
March  18,  1895 
May  31,  1897 
May  27,  1 901 


May  3,  1875 
October  13, 1879 
May  7,  1883 
May  19,  1884 
February  27,  i88f 
April  13,  1891 

March  16,  191 4 


[     285     ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Louis  Martin  Sears 

Jefferson  as  a  Pacifist 

A  Confederate  Diplomat  at  the  Court  of  Napoleon  III 

Some  Forgotten  Amenities  of  Journalism 


Theodore  Sheldon 

Transfer  of  Land  by  Registration  of  Title 

Robert  Dickinson  Sheppard 

Milton 

Religion  and  Politics 

John  Hancock 

The  Chicago  Convention  of  i860 

Daniel  Lewis  Shorey 

Recent  English  Legislation 

Civil  Service  Reform  (Conversation) 

The  Restoration  of  a  Specie  Basis  (Conversation) 

The  Government  of  Large  Cities  (Conversation) 

Inaugural  Address  as  President 

Socialism  in  the  United  States  (Conversation) 

The  Problem  of  Municipal  Government  for  Chicago 

(Conversation) 
Political  Economy  Since  Mill 
Nihilism  in  Russia 
Turgot 

Leaders  and  Parties  in  the  French  Revolution 
The  Girondists 
The  Functions  of  the  Gentleman  of  Leisure 

Paul  Shorey 

Dion  Chrysostom — or  Greek  Culture  under  the  Early 

Roman  Empire 
Improvements  in  Educational  Methods 
Scenes  from  Aristophanes 
Some  Recent  Discoveries  in  Greek  Literature 
The  Pace  that  Killed  x'\thens 
The  True  View  of  Shakespeare's  Work  as  a  Playwright 

and  as  a  Poet 
Some  Modernisms  of  the  Ancients 
The  Emperor  Julian 
Alfred  Tennyson 
Athens  Fin  de  Siecle 
The  Case  of  Euripides 
An  Exchange  Professor  in  Germany 
Plato  and  Poetry 
The  Wit  and  Humor  of  Herbert  Spencer 

[    286    ] 


December  18,  1916 
February  2,  1920 
December  20,  1920 


April  20,  1891 


October  18, 1886 
March  11,  1889 
February  i,  1892 
October  19,  1903 


January  17, 1876 
June  17, 1876 
October  9,  1876 
February  12,  1877 
June  25,  1877 
October  13, 1879 

November  24,  188^ 
January  17, 1887 
April  4,  1887 
November  12,  i88{ 
May  16,  1892 
April  30,  1894 
May  25,  1896 


May  8,  1893 
April  27,  1896 
February  7,  1898 
February  19,  1900 
February  29,  1904 

April  23,  1906 
April  30,  1906 
April  6,  1908 
May  3,  1909 
October  31,  1910 
October  30,  191 1 
May  3,1915 
March  27,  191 6 
November  11,  191 8 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


Ruskin  as  a  Literary  Artist 
Some  Modernisms  of  Plato 
The  American  Language 

John  George  Shortall 
Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 
A  Bundle  of  Old  Letters — Horace  Greeley 
The  Lanil  of  the  Chrysanthemum 
Incidents  of  Travel 
More  about  Japan 
The  Reformation  of  City  Government 

John  Louis  Shortall 

In  Hiawatha's  Country 

PVom  the  White  Mountains  to  the  Black  Hills 

HiROMICHI  ShUGYO 

The  Japanese  Exhibits  at  the  St.  Louis  Exposition 

William  Pratt  Sidley 

Unearthing  a  Conspiracy  in  Croatia 

The  Northern  Boundary  of  the  State  of  Illinois 

George  Gushing  Sikes 

Shortcomings  of  the  Daily  Press 
Joseph  Lyman  Silsbee 

Color  in  Architecture 

Back  Yards 

Can  Architecture  Become  Again  a  Living  Art? 

Charles  Gilman  Smith 

The  Physical  Basis  of  Character 
Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 
Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 
Cholera  (Conversation) 
Inaugural  Address  as  President 
Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

Edwin  Burritt  Smith 

The  Negro  as  a  Citizen 

American  Sovereignty 

George  William  Curtis 

At   the  Parting  of  the  Ways:   a    Study    in    National 

Policy 
A  Retrospect  of  the  Campaign  and  of  the  Causes  which 

Led  to  It 


December  15,  1919 
November  28,  1921 
March  12,  1923 


February  18,  1878 
June  13,  1887 
May  6, 1895 
October  19, 1896 
April  9,  1900 
April  4,  1904 


April  4,  1910 
March  25,  1918 


October  31,  1904 


January  25,  1897 
December  7,  1903 


May  1 1,  1903 


May  25,  1885 
March  23,  1891 
December  23,  1895 


March  5,  1877 
April  18,  1 88 1 
February  26,  188; 
December  10,  188 
October  6,  1884 
January  21,  1889 


March  31,  1890 
April  27,  1891 
November  21,  189: 

January  20,  1896 

November  9,  1896 


287     ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Timothy  Smith,  Pioneer  January  23,  1899 

The  Confused  West:  a  Literary    Forecast.    Inaugural 

Address  as  President  October  7,  1901 

Senate  Bill  No.  40:  the  Story  and  Significance  of  Recent 

Street  Railway  Legislation  in  Illinois  November  9,  1903 

Frederick  Augustus  Smith 

Bench  and  Bar  in  the  Early  Days  of  the  Republic  April  6,  1903 

Our  Ethical  Standards  March  26,  1906 

Success  March  15,  1909 

What  Others  Think  January  13,  1913 

George  Baldwin  Smith 

Was  Bacon  the  Author  of  Shakespeare?  February  i,  1875 

George  Washington  Smith 

The  Battle  of  Franklin  '  April  30,  1883 

Letters  from  an  Illinois  Garret  January  21,  1884 

The  Law  of  the  Road  December  6,  1886 

Thirty  Years  After  January  8,  1894 

Inaugural  Address  as  President  October  5,  1896 

Howard  Leslie  Smith 

Social  Problems  and  Fads  April  16,  1900 

Some  Superficial  Aspects  of  Plato's  Modernity  January  28,  1918 

Perry  Hiram  Smith 

Secret  Societies  April  21,  1890 

Pliny  Bent  Smith 

The  Oration  on  the  Crown  April  22,  1907 

William  Henry  Smith 

War  Pictures  January  14,  1894 

Franklyn  Bliss  Snyder 

Our  American  Literature  Today  April  9,  1917 

American  Ideals  in  American  Letters  March  8,  1920 

The  Classic  and  the  Best  Seller  October  17,  1921 

An  Old-time  Best  Seller:  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  January  29,  1923 

Horace  Mann  Starkey 

The  Care  of  Epileptics  in  Colonies:  the 

Settlement  of  an  Economic  Question  .  February  25,  1901 

Samuel  Cecil  Stanton 

Here  Lies  .  April  14,  1924 

[    288    ] 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


Merrjtt  Starr 

Market  Day  in  Sicily 

Some  Recent  Pictures 

Olympia  Revisited  (Illustrated) 

Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  (Address) 

The  Politics  of  Dante 

The  State  Control  of  Railways 

Inaugural  Address  as  President 

Ascending  II  Monte 

Holding  High  Converse 

Books  of  the  Year  (Symposium) 

Fourteen  Voyages  of  Adventure  and  Discovery 

Ruskin — Herald  of  Revolt 

Ruskin  as  a  Social  Reformer 

Dante,  Six  Hundred  Years  After 

Marquette,  LaSalle,  and  Chicago 

Lewis  Abyram  Stebbins 

The  Philosophy  of  Mark  Twain 

Frederick  Morgan  Steele 

Some  Suggestions  from  Unpublished  Original  American 
Historical  Documents 

Henry  Thornton  Steele 

The  Deformed  Spelling 

Patent  Ethics 

Herbert  Spencer's  First  Principles 

Otto  Albert  Steller 

Two  stories:  "Karma  Outwitted,"  and  "The  Forest" 

William  Robert  Stirling 

Partners 

George  Frederic  Stone 

Yarns  of  an  Old  Town 

Henry  Baldwin  Stone 
The  Use  of  Machinery 

James  Samuel  Stone 

What  Is  the  Essential  Element  in  Religion? 
How  to  Discover  the  History  of  a  Family 
The  Influence  of  the  Soldier  on  Society 


April  22,  1895 
January  3,  1898 
December  4,  1899 
May  25,  1903 
March  4,  1907 
November  23,  1908 
October  10,  1910 
March  24,  191 3 
May  II,  191 4 
December  21,  191 4 
May  1, 1916 
December  15,  1919 
December  15,  1919 
January  3, 1920 
March  5,  1923 


May  19,  1919 


October  16,  i{ 


November  i,  1880 
January  8, 1883 
December  20,  1886 


March  10,  1924 
March  11,  1901 
November  4, 1895 
February  2,  1885 


January  27, 1896 
May  9,  1898 
May  21,  1900 


[    289    ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Joseph  Stolz 

The  Message  of  Judaism  to  the  Twentieth  Century 
A  New  English  Translation  of  the  Bible 

Henry  Strong 

The  Defects  in  American  Public  Education,  Moral  and 
Economic,  as  affecting  the  Stability  of  Government 
and  the  Security  of  Property  (Conversation) 

Is  Buckle's  Theory  of  Civilization  the  True  Theory? 

(Conversation) 
The   Earl   of  Mansfield — Chief  Justice   of  the   King's 

Bench 
The  University  of  Virginia  and  Its  Founder 

William  Emerson  Strong 
The  Siege  of  Vicksburg 
The  March  to  the  Sea 

Glimpses  of  Travel  in  the  West  with  the  Lieutenant 
General  of  the  Army 

Louis  Henry  Sullivan 
Nature  and  the  Poet 
Can  Architecture  Become  Again  a  Living  Art? 

David  Swing 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

A  Letter  from  Tyro,  Slave  of  Cicero,  to  Ximenes 

Excess 

A  Page  from  History 

Virgil 

The  Greek  Literature 

A  Roman  Gentlemen  (Pliny  the  Younger) 

Dante 

Demosthenes 

The  Need  of  the  Hour 

A  True  Love  Story 

Submerged  Centuries 

LORADO  TaFT 

Paris  from  a  Mansard:  Experiences  of  an  American  Art 

Student 
Facial  Expression  in  Nature  and  Art 
Some  Surprises  of  the  Art  Palace 

The  Entire  History  of  Art  from  Its  Earliest  Beginnings 
Clothes,  Art,  and  Other  Things 


December  5,  1904 
January  7,  1918 


May  13,  1878,  and 
May  20,  1878 

December  19,  1881 

May  23,  1887 
May  20,  1889 


November  6,  1882 
November  17,  1884 

January  14, 1889 


December  17,  1888 
December  23,  1895 


October  5, 1874 
December  16,  1878 
October  29, 1883 
April  13   1885 
February  28,  1887 
October  31,  1887 
March  18,  1889 
May  26,  1890 
December  14,  189 1 
April  18,  1892 
November  13,  1893 
January  29, 1894 


January  20,  1890 
January  25,  1892 
October  30,  1893 
February  28,  1898 
May  8,  1899 


[    290    ] 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


December  21,  1885 
April  20,  1903 
Nlay  25,  1908 


November  26,  1894 


May  2,  1898 


April  13,  1903 
May  21,  1906 


Charles  Henrv  Tavi.or 

The  Advance  of  Socialism 
Progress  and  Individual  Liberty 
Is  It  Nation  or  Confederacy? 

Graham  Tavlor 

The  Social  Unification  ot  the  City  (Conversation) 

Thomas  Taylor,  Jr. 
Utopia 

Horace  KentTennev 

A  Litigated  Romance 

The  Forest  Laws  of  Old  England 

John  NL^rshall  Thacher 
Early  Days  of  a  Reform 
Ideas — Embodiment — Right  of  Property  Therein 

James  Westfall  Thompson 

Monks,  Monasteries,  and  Manuscripts 

Private  Libraries  in  Chicago 

Napolean  as  a  Booklover 

Book  Hunting  as  a  Sport 

France  as  It  Isn't 

New  Tales  of  Old  France:  "The  Wooing  of  the  Lady 

Talivas,"  and  "The  Bell  in  the  Brain" 
The  Romance  of  Historical  Research 
Mark  Twain  and  the  Mississippi  River 
The  Frankfort  Book-Fair  of  the  Sixteenth  Century 
The  Mendacity  of  History 
The  Paston  Letters 

Autobiography  and  Memoir  in  Aniitpiity 
The  Vanished  Wend 

The  Principles  and  Methods  ol  Criticism 
The  Purple  West 

The  Last  Pagan.  Inaugural  Address  as  President 
Poems 
Time 

The  Charm  of  the  Prologue 
The  Last  Oracle 
More  Smoke  than  Fire 
Cathay,  and  the  Way  Thither.   Unfamiliar  information 

about  an  old  road 

Leverett  Thompson 

Stevenson's  Children's  Verses 


April  1 1,  1887 
June  3, 1895 


March  5,  1900 
F'ebruary  6,  1905 
December  11,  1905 
January  21,  1906 
December  9,  1907 

October  12, 1908 
November  i,  1909 
April  25,  1910 
November  28,  1910 
January  8, 1912 
December  9,  1912 
March  23,  1914 
October  12,  1914 
May  24,  1915 
October  11,  1915 
October  9,  1916 
March  5,  19 17 
November  4, 1918 
December  22,  1919 
October  11,  1920 
October  31,  1921 

February  4,  1924 


November  26,  1900 


[     ^91     ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Slason  Thompson 

As  Others  See  Us;  or  Reflections  by  Six  Distinguished 

Mirrors  (Symposium) 
The  Model  Newspaper 
James  Russell  Lowell 
The  Need  of  the  Hour 

What  We  All  Think  about  It?  (Conversation) 
Ghosts  (Symposium) 
•  The  American  Novel 
Different  Views  of  Eugene  Field 
Justice  to  Shafter  and  Schley 
The  Age  and  Art  of  Advertising 
The  Labor  Question 

Lying  .... 
Moulding  Public  Opinion 
The  Parlous  Times  in  Which  We  Live 
The  Poetry  of  This  War 
The  War  in  Retrospect 
The  League  of  Nations — a  Post  Mortem 
The  Present-Day  Business-Man  Can  Dispense  with  the 
Present-day  Lawyer 

William  McIlwain  Thompson 

Canoeing 

The  Trail  Makers  of  the  Quetico 

Albert  Harris  Tolman 

Some  English  Dialogues  and  Their  Ancestry 

Is  Shakespeare  Anti-democratic? 

A  Shakespearean  Problem 

The  Folk-Songs  of  England 

The  European  War 

The  Principles  and  Methods  of  Criticism 

Why  Did  Shakespeare  Create  Falstaff? 

A  Postscript  to  "The  Folk  Songs  of  England" 

Shakespearean  Studies 

Shakespeare's  Manipulation  of  His  Sources  in"As  You 
Like  It" 

The  Early  History  of  Shakespeare's  Reputation.  Inau- 
gural Address  as  President 

Henry  Leland  Tolman 

A  Comparative  View  of  the  Development  of  Literature 
in  All  Languages 

Floyd  Williams  Tomkins,  Jr. 

Factors  and  Products 


November  i6, 1885 
February  3, 1890 
October  19, 1891 
April  18,  1892 
June  13, 1892 
February  27,  1893 
October  29, 1894 
March  23,  1896 
March  6, 1899 
March  24, 1902 
November  2,  1903 
April  8,  1907 
December  11,  191 1 
January  26, 1914 
November  29,  1915 
May  17,  1920 
March  7,  1921 

December  4,  1922 


April  II,  1910 
April  13,  1914 


May  2,  1910 
April  10,  191 1 
March  25,  191 2 
December  8,  1913 
October  19,  1914 
May  24,  191 5 
November  i,  1915 
November  i,  191 5 
October 14, 1918 

March  i,  1920 

October  11,  1920 


February  2,  1880 
April  17,  1893 


[    292    ] 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


Arnold  Tompkins 
TheiS^iture  of  Beauty 

Melvin  Alvah  Traylor 

Banking  and  Coinage 

George  Macaulay  Trevelyan 

History  vs.  Literature 
Serbia  (Informal  talk) 

Lyman  Trumbull 

Slavery  and  Its  Abolition  (Conversation) 

Charles  Henderson  True 

Some  Factors  Influencing  Locomotive  Design 

David  Newton  Utter 

Robert  Browning 

The  Shakespeare  Question 

Marlowe's  Part  in  Shakespeare's  Works 

Literary  Forgeries,  Their  Value  and  Their  Weakness 

John  Frederick  Voigt 

Political  Experiences  in  Southern  Illinois 

The  Jury 

The  Story  of  Illinois 

Henry  Heileman  Wait 
Recent  Progress  in  Engineering 

Horatio  Loomis  Wait 

Mirth 

Fort  Sumter 

Reminiscences  of  the  Blockade 

The  Art  of  Killing 

Novel  F"orms  for  Vessels 

Inaugural  Address  as  President 

The  Deeds  and  Needs  of  Our  Navy 

Submarine  Warfare 

Some  Incidents  at  Fort  Barrancas 

When  General  Sherman  Reached  the  Coast 

Some  Incidents  of  the  Blockading  Service 

Charleston  during  the  Siege 

Some  Reminiscences  of  the  Civil  War 

Incidents  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion 

In  Time  of  Peace  Prepare  for  War 


January  25,  1904 
January  5, 1920 


May  3,1915 
May  3,  1915 


January  6, 1879 
April  21,  1924 


November  3,  1884 
November  21,  1887 
December  2,  1889 
December  i,  1890 


May  29,  191 1 
May  12,  1913 
April  15,  1918 


December  4,  1905 


April  I,  1878 
November  21,  1881 
March  3,  1884 
October  28,1889 
October  20, 1890 
October  2,  1893 
October  10,  1898 
October  21,  1901 
November  11,  1907 
October  24, 1 910 
October  9, 191 1 
October  21,  1912 
February  9, 1914 
January  11, 1915 
October  18,  191 5 


I    293    ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


James  Joseph  Wait 

Memories  of  the  Sea 

Philippine  Reminiscences — The  Brown  Man's  Bondage 

Poetry  and  Songs  of  the  Sea 

Miss  Morning  Glory  (Story) 

Le  Hollandais  Volant  (Story) 

The  Spectre  of  Roncador  Reef  (Story) 


Aldace  Freeman  Walker 
Competition 

Government  Ownership  of  Railways  (Conversation) 
How  to  Place  the  Government  of  Cities  in  the  United 
States  on  a  Business  Footing 

Seymour  Walton 

Personal  Reminiscences  of  Reconstruction  in  Louisiana 

Frank  Gibson  Ward 

The  Losing  and  Finding  of  the  Community  Ideal 
The  Valley  of  Democracy 
William  Allen  White  at  Home 

Abra  Nelson  Waterman 

The  War  in  its  Effect  on  Public  and  Private  Opinion 
A  Few  Thoughts  Concerning  Charles  I  and  the  English 

Revolution 
The  Civilizations  of  Japan  and  America  Compared 
The  Philosophy  of  Buddhism 
A  Chapter  from  a  Century  of  Caste 
Inaugural  Address  as  President 
Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow 
The  Meditations  of  a  Village  Philosopher 
More  Reflections  of  a  Village  Philosopher 
The  Relations  of  the  United  States  with  Mexico 

Edward  Stanley  Waters 
The  Pottery  of  the  Renaissance 
The  South  Kensington  Museum 

William  Otis  Waters 

Chicago 

English  Church  and  State 

George  Washington  Webster 
The  Captain  of  the  Hosts  of  Death 


December  3,  1894 
April  10,  1899 
January  23, 1905 
November  10,  19 13 
March  12,  1917 
March  29,  1920 


February  16, 1891 
December  7,  1891 

February  12, 1894 


December  21,  1891 


April  30,  191 7 
May  3,  1920 
February  27,  192: 


November  19,  1883 

March  17,  1890 
April  I,  1895 
March  2,  1896 
February  26,  1900 
October  5,  1903 
February  27, 1905 
December  10,  1906 
February  28,  1910 
February  16,  19 14 


January  3, 1876 
October  29, 1877 


November  6,  1905 
December  17,  1906 


May  2,  1904 


[    294    ] 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


John  Clarence  Webster 

The  Influence  of  Japanese  Art  on  Whistler  and  His 

Contemporaries 


Characteristics  of  Robert  Louis  Stevenson 

David  Spencer  Wegg 

Changes  in  the  Legal  Status  of  Women 
The  Moors  and  Some  Things  We  Owe  to  Tliem 
The  Rebellion  of  '37 

George  Philip  Welles 

Patriotism  vs.  Philanthropy 
-As  Others  See  Us 
The  Senator's  Error 

Arthur  Brattle  W^ells 

A  Just  Judge 

Beneath  the  Dust  of  a  Generation 

Charles  William  Wendte 

Church  and  State 
Genius  in  Art 

Arthur  Dana  Wheeler 

The  Partitioning  of  Africa 
Some  Telephone  History  and  Problems 
The  Future  of  the  American  Negro 
The  Ethics  of  Present-day  Finance 
Newspapers:  Corporations 

Horace  White 

Financial  Crises 

The  Centenary  of  Adam  Smith  (Conversation) 

Russell  Whitman 

Pilgrim  Plymouth 

Peter  Bonnett  Wight 

The  Practice  of  Architecture  as  a  Fine  Art 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 

The  Development  of  New  Phases  of  the  Fine  Arts  in 

America 
The  Graduates'  Club — a  Story  of  Christmas  Eve 
Can  Architecture  Become  Again  a  Living  Art? 

John  Daniel  Wild 

The  Philosophy  of  Bergson 


May  18,  1908 
October  25, 1909 


February  10,  1896 
February  20,  1905 
April  12,  1909 


February  16, 1885 
November  16,  1885 
March  25,  1889 


November  12,  1900 
May  10,  1909 


November  i,  1875 
October  10, 1881 


October  14,  1895 
May  23,  1898 
January  29, 1906 
January  16,  191 1 
May  15,  191 1 


April  15,  1876 
November  13,  1876 


May  2,  1892 


January  8,  1877 
December  15,  1879 

May  5,  1884 
June  4,  1894 
December  23,  1895 


April  14,  1 9 13 


295 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Pseudo-Humanism 

Bertrand  Russell's  "Proposed  Roads  to  Freedom" 

Fallacies 

Payson  Sibley  Wild 

Humorous  poems:  "The  Smell  of  the  Stock  Yards," 
"Calling  Me  Back  Thar,"  and  "An  Ode  to  My  Stein" 
An  Old  Satirist  Modernized 
Cicero's  Theory  of  Humor 
An  Analysis  of  the  Programme 
A  New  Poet 
Ausonius 

The  Valley  and  Villa  of  Horace 

An  Early  Literary  Club.  Inaugural  Address  as  President 
The  Skillet  Fork  Literary  Club  (Poem) 
De  Duabus  Juliis 
Poems 

On  the  Hades  Golf-Club  Portico 
Poems 

Fantasia  Humanistica 
Megistotheos  and  My  Anima  Vagula 

Ernest  H.  Wilkins 
Dante  the  Apostle 

John  Wilkinson 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 
The  Microscope 

Edward  Franklin  Williams 
The  Outlook  for  Russia 
Oxford  and  the  High  Church  Anglicans 
A  Forgotten  American  Hero 
Alexander  von  Humboldt 
Memories  of  an  Indian  Pay  Party 

Henry  Percy  Williams 

The  Literature  of  Business 

Poems 

The  Professional  Spirit  in  Business 

Making  a  World 

The  Re-incarnation  of  Bill  Spencer  (Story) 

Robert  Williams 
Gambetta 

Stalham  Leon  Williams,  Jr. 

Some  Literary  Lapses 


April  26,  191 5 
December  22,  191 9 
April  17,  1922 


April  4,  1904 
November  20,  1905 
November  16,  1908 
May  29,  191 1 
March  18,  1912 
November  25,  1912 
February  8,  191 5 
October  4,  191 5 
May  29,  1916 
January  29, 1917 
March  5,  1917 
December  2,  191 8 
November  3,  1919 
May  23,  1921 
May  21,  1923 


January  3, 1921 


January  21,  i! 
April  6,  1885 


May  6,  1878 
April  21,  1884 
April  28,  1902 
February  i,  1909 
May  4,  1914 


February  26, 1917 
December  17,  1917 
April  5,  1920 
April  4,  1 92 1 
October  30, 1922 


February  4,  1884 


January  21,  1901 


[     296    ] 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 


Charles  Henry  Wilmerding 

Practical  Electricity 

Bexjamin  Mairs  Wilson 

Edited  and  read  an  "Informal" 
Taxation  (Conversation) 

Arthur  Wellesley  Windett 

The  Roman  Tribune  and  the  Modern  Chancellor 

DeWitt  Cosgrove  Wing 

Culture  and  Agriculture 

An  Old  Country  Editor 

A  Woman's  World 

Books  of  the  Year  (Symposium) 

Three  Books  of  Proverbs 

Miss  Semple's  Great  Book 

Newspaper  Book-Reviewing 

Thomas  Foster  With  row 

The  Literature  of  the  Law  (Conversation) 

Henry  Milton  Wolf 

Some  Suggestions  about  Education 

Benjamin  Wolhaupter 

One  Proposed  Solution  of  a  Difficult  Chicago  Problem 

Walter  Mabie  Wood 

Simplicity  the  Genius  of  Invention 

Supplemented  Education;  or  the  Education  of  Employed 

Men 
Recent  Progress  in  Physics 

John  Hopkins  Worcester,  Jr. 
Tolstoi  as  a  Reformer 

Samuel  Henry  Wright 

A  Local  Phase  of  Labor  Combination 

Victor  Yarros 

The  Newspaper  and  Contemporaneous  History 
The  Condition  of  Journalism  in  Russia 
Municipal  Ownership 

Development  and  Tendencies  of  the  Russian  Drama 
Paper  Constitutions  and  Actual  Government 


December  22,  1908 


November  19,  1877 
January  17,  1881 


May  3,  1880 


January  4,  191 5 
March  20,  1916 
February  17,  1 919 
December  22,  191 9 
March  i,  1920 
November  29, 192c 
May  15,  1922 


April  8,  1878 
May  15,  1916 
April  19,  1897 

January  19, 1903 

April  3,  1905 
December  4,  1905 

November  10,  1880 

November  27,  1899 


November  7,  1904 
March  6,  1905 
April  2,  1906 
October  9,  1906 
January  1 1,  1909 


[     297     ] 


The  Chicago  Literary  Club 


Nikolai  Vassilievitch  Gogol 

Tolstoi:  the  Man  and  the  Author 

What  Ails  the  Modern  Newspaper? 

The  European  War 

Pessimism  and  Optimism:  Fresh  Treatment  of  an  Old 
Subject 

Progress:  the  Idea  and  the  Reality 

The  Political  Situation  in  Russia 

Wells  and  Shaw  as  Prophets  of  Religion 

The  War  Debts  and  the  Wage  Workers  of  the  World 

Literary  Criticisms 

Contemporary  American  Radicalism 

Recent  Assaults  on,  and  Vindications  of  Popular  Gov- 
ernment 

Fathers  and  Sons;  or  Age  and  Youth 

Prose,  Poetry,  and  the  Human  Spirit.  Inaugural  Address 
as  President  ' 

Charles  Yeomans 

Die  Entwickelung  des  Kanonenfutters 

Abram  Van  Eps  Young 

Some  Eccentricities  of  Nature 
The  Beautiful  in  Physical  Nature 
Franklin  as  a  Scientist 

John  Maxcy  Zane 

The  Romance  of  Catarina  di  Monte  Acuto 
An  Early  English  Booklover:  Richard  Augerville;  other- 
wise known  as  Richard  de  Bury 

Joseph  Zeisler 

An  Evening  with  Poet  Physicians 

Program  Music  Illustrated 

Fitness  for  Marriage 

Dreams 

Stories  from  Far  and  Wide 

Our  Increasing  Interest  in  Leprosy 

The  Venereal  Peril 

Arthur  Schnitzler,  the  Great  Dramatist 

The  European  War 

The  Art  of  Growing  Old 

-Sigmund  Zeisler 

The  Prevalence  of  Perjury  in  the  United  States 

About  Nietzsche 

Our  Tendency  to  Fads 

[     298     ] 


October  18,  1909 
October  16,  191 1 
January  6, 1913 
October  19,  1914 

April  24,  1916 
October  30,  191 6 
May  21,  1917 
April  22,  1918 
March  24,  1 919 
December  22,  1919 
November  22,  1920 

November  7,  1921 
April  23,  1923 

October  8, 1923 


April  3,  1922 


February  17, 1890 
February  18, 1895 
January  8, 1906 


October  29, 1906 
October  10,  1910 


December  16,  1895 
March  29,  1897 
January  22, 1900 
December  7,  1903 
October  23, 1905 
January  6, 1908 
February  24,  1908 
March  6,  1911 
October  19, 1914 
April  19,1915 


May  14,  1894 
February  21,  li 
April  17,  1899 


Papers  Read  Before  the  Club 

A  Confidence  Man  of  Internationa!  Reputation  February  24,  iyo2 
Heine  and  the  English  December  12,  1904 
Almost  a  Casus  Belli  January  7,  1907 
An  Enchanted  Castle:  The  Chateau  Trevano  at  Lu- 
gano. Italy,  the  Residence  of  Louis  Lombard  February  7,  1910 
The  Ethics  of  Present-day  Finance  January  16,  191 1 
The  Oberammergau  Passion  Play  May  8,  1911 
The  Mysterious  Case  of  Kasper  Hauser  March  29,  191 ; 


[    299    ] 


OF    THIS     BOOK 

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THE  CHICAGO  LITERARY  CLUB 

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